ducational  Adaptations 


Report  of  Ten  Years '  Work  of  the 
Phelps-Stokes  Fund,  1910-1920 


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EDUCATIONAL  ADAPTATIONS 


REPORT  OF  TEN  YEARS'  WORK  OF  THE 
PHELPS-STOKES  FUND,  1910-1920 


By  Thomas  Jesse  Jones 
Educational  Director 


Published  by  the 
Phelps-Stokes  Fund,  25  Madison  Avenue,  New  York 


The  Author 


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TRUSTEES  AND  OFFICERS 


PHELPS-STOKES  FUND 

100    WILLIAM   ST.    NEW   YORK 


Trustees 


Elmer  Ellsworth  Brown,  1911- 
Charles  Sumner  Burch,  1919- 
Henry  Sloan  Coffin,  1916- 
*Grace  E.  Dodge,  1910-1915 
♦David  H.  Greer,  1910-1918 
John  Sherman  Hoyt,  1910- 
Caroline  Phelps  Stokes  Hunter, 
1910- 


John  H.  MacCracken,  1910-1911 
Edward  W.  Sheldon,  1910- 
Francis  Louis  Slade,  1910- 
Olivia  E.  Phelps  Stokes,  1910- 
I.  N.  Phelps  Stokes,  1910- 
Helen  O.  Phelps  Stokes,  1910- 
Anson  Phelps  Stokes,  1910- 


Officers 

I.  N.  Phelps  Stokes,  Chairman. 
Anson  Phelps  Stokes,  Secretary. 
Francis  Louis  Slade,  Treasurer. 
James  W.  McCulloch,  Clerk. 

Committees 
Executive  Committee 


I.  N.  Phelps  Stokes,  Chairman. 
Henry  Sloan  Coffin. 
Francis  Louis  Slade. 

Committee  on  Education 

Anson  Phelps  Stokes,  Chairman. 
Elmer  Ellsworth  Brown. 
Henry  Sloan  Coffin. 

•Deceased. 


Helen  O.  Phelps  Stokes. 

Anson  Phelps  Stokes. 

Olivia  E.  Phelps  Stokes,  Honorary. 

Committee  on  Housing 

I.  N.  Phelps  Stokes,  Chairman. 
Francis  Louis  Slade. 
John  Sherman  Hoyt. 


1398233 


STAFF 

Thomas  Jesse  Jones,  1913,  Educational  Director. 

Dr.  Jones  was  born  in  Wales.  His  education  was  at  Washington  and  Lee  University,  in  Vir- 
ginia, and  Marietta  College,  in  Ohio.  His  post-graduate  work  was  done  at  Union  Theological 
Serainarv  in  Xew  York  City  and  in  Columbia  University,  where  he  received  his  Ph.D.  in  sociology. 
For  a  time  he  was  the  head  worker  in  the  University  Settlement  in  New  York  City.  Later  he 
became  Associate  Chaplain  and  Director  of  Research  and  Sociology  at  Hampton  Institute,  Vir- 
ginia. In  the  census  of  1910  he  was  in  charge  of  the  Negro  section,  directing  both  the  gathering 
and  compiling  of  Negro  statistics.  In  1913  he  became  the  Educational  Director  of  the  Phelps- 
Stokes  Fund  and  a  specialist  in  the  Bureau  of  Education,  in  charge  of  the  Division  of  Racial 
Groups.  While  in  this  position  he  conducted  the  survey  of  colored  schools  frequently  referred 
to  in  the  present  report.  It  was  for  this  study  that  the  Grant  Squires  Prize  was  awarded  by 
Columbia  University  in  1920. 

Ida  A.  Tourtellot,  1918,  Associate  Director. 

Miss  Tourtellot  is  a  graduate  of  Vassar  College.  For  five  years  she  was  on  the  faculty  of  the 
Fall  River  Normal  Training  School,  Massachusetts.  For  eleven  years  she  was  at  Hampton  In- 
stitute, Virginia.     In  1917-1918  she  was  a  special  assistant  in  sociology  to  the  Doheny  Research 

Foundation. 

Ocea  W.  Taylor,  1913-1917. 

Mr.  Taylor  is  a  graduate  of  the  State  Agricultural  and  Mechanical  College  of  Alabama,  and  of 
Howard  University,  Washington,  D.  C,  where  he  received  the  degrees  of  B.A.  and  LL.B. 

Thomas  Jackson  Woofter,  Jr.,  1913-1917. 

Mr.  Woofter  is  a  graduate  of  the  University  of  Georgia,  and  as  a  post-graduate  student  there 
he  held  the  Phelps-Stokes  Fellowship  for  1912-1913. 

Walter  B.  Hill,  1914-1919. 

Mr.  Hill  is  a  graduate  of  the  University  of  Georgia  and  a  post-graduate  student  of  the  same 
University.     He  held  the  Phelps-Stokes  Fellowship  in  the  University  of  Georgia  for  1913-1914. 

Leo  A.  Roy,  1918-,  Special  Accountant. 

Mr.  Roy  is  a  graduate  of  Hampton  Institute,  Virginia,  studying  later  at  Ferris  Institute,  Mich- 
igan. He  was  for  some  time  a  cost  accountant  in  a  large  automobile  concern.  He  has  been  the 
business  manager  and  the  accountant  of  the  Agricultural  and  Mechanical  College  for  Negroes  at 
Tallahassee,  Florida.  He  has  worked  in  the  office  of  the  auditor  of  Chicago  University  and  has 
had  experience  with  a  firm  of  accountants  in  New  York  City. 


CONTENTS 

Introduction  : 

Biographical  Sketch  of  Caroline  Phelps  Stokes 7 

History  of  the  Phelps-Stokes  Fund 15 

Policies  of  the  Fund 20 

I.  Negro  Education  in  the  United  States 23 

"Who's  Who"  in  Negro  Education 27 

Constructive  purposes , 03 

Financial  Support  of  Negro  Education.  .  .  .  29 

Preparation  and  distribution  of  the  report 31 

II.  Educational  Adaptations 37 

Industrial  Education 33 

Rural  Education 41 

Secondary  Education 47 

College  and  Professional  Education 50 

Race  Elements  in  Education 51 

III.  School  Improvement 5o 

Dormitory  Regulations 53 

Accounting  and  Records «7 

Economy  and  Good  Taste  in  Buildings  and  Grounds     59 

Gardening  and  Simple  Manual  Training     gg 

School  Appropriations gi 

rV.  Cooperation  with  Educational  and  Religious  Agencies  63 

Conference  of  Educational  Boards'  Representatives   64 

Probation  Officers  in  Southern  Cities 64 

Training  of  Rural  Ministers g5 

International  Sunday  School  Association gg 

Other  Organizations qq 

V.  The  Phelps-Stokes  Fellowships go 

Terms  of  the  Fellowships qq 

The  Fellows  and  Their  Work 7q 

Future  Developments  of  the  Fellowships 74 

VI.  University  Commission  on  Race  Questions 77 

Formation  of  the  Commission 77 

Purpose  of  the  Commission 77 

Results  of  the  Commission's  Work -~o 

VII.  The  Southern  Publicity  Committee g0 

Purpose  and  Scope 01 

Attitude  Toward  the  Work  of  the  Committee 82 

Circulation  of  Material o« 

Type  of  Material  Issued 04 

Recent  Extension  of  the  Work g5 


6  CONTENTS 

VIII.  War  Work 87 

War  Department — War  and  Education 87 

War-time  Committee  of  the  Churches 89 

War- Work  Council  of  the  Y.  M.  C.  A 89 

After-war  Cooperation 90 


INTRODUCTION 


BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCH  OF  CAROLINE  PHELPS  STOKES 

Caroline  Phelps  Stokes  was  born  in  New  York,  December  4,  1854,  at  Clifton 
Cottage  on  the  East  River  near  30th  Street.  During  her  youth  the  nation  was 
rapidly  undergoing  changes,  and  the  city  in  which  she  was  born  was  fast  becoming 
the  metropolis  of  the  country.  Slavery  was  soon  after  abolished,  and  the  freedmen 
required  instruction  and  help  in  becoming  citizens.  The  poor  of  New  York  were 
in  sore  need  of  better  housing  conditions. 

Miss  Stokes'  ancestors  were  English  and  Puritan;  among  them  were  men  eminent 
for  ability  and  Christian  character.  Her  grandfather,  Thomas  Stokes,  was  born 
in  London,  December  13,  1765.     In  his  diary  he  writes: 

United  with  the  Countess  of  Huntingdon  Chapel  in  the  Mulberry  Garden,  near  Ratcliffe 
Highway,  about  1784.  Soon  after  felt  very  anxious  that  the  gospel  might  be  sent  to  the 
heathen  and  commenced  a  correspondence  with  several  on  the  subject.  The  object  was 
presented  to  the  view  of  churches  in  England,  Scotland,  Wales,  through  the  medium  of  the 
Evangelical  Magazine,  a  periodical  got  up  for  that  express  purpose.  Profits  to  the  widows 
of  deceased  ministers. 

This  effort  resulted  in  the  formation  of  the  London  Missionary  Society  in  September, 
1795,  at  the  Castle  &  Falcon,  Aldersgate  St.,  London.  Met  with  .  .  .  Revs.  Thomas 
Haweis,  Matthew  Wilkes,  Rowland  Hill,  and  many  others,  ministers  and  laymen,  to  consider 
propriety  of  forming  missionary  society  for  sending  the  gospel  to  the  heathen.  . 
Recorded  my  name  .  .  .  among  the  first  members  of  this  new  society,  and  gave  a  donation 
of  two  guineas.  .  .  .  Ship  Duff  was  purchased,  twenty-seven  missionaries  and  mechanics 
were  set  apart.  .  .  .  Spent  part  of  the  day  with  them  on  board.  .  .  .  Resolved  to 
endeavor  to  obey  His  commands  who  said,  "Go  into  (all)  the  world  and  preach  the  gospel 
to  every  creature." 

In  1786,  united  in  forming  a  society  to  give  gratuitous  instruction  to  poor  children 
belonging  to  the  widows  of  seamen  and  soldiers  who  lost  their  lives  in  the  American  War. 
Work  first  began  with  twelve  children  in  1787.  The  school  was  situated  on  St.  George's 
Road,  Cannon  Street,  Ratcliffe  Highway. 

In  another  place  he  writes:  "The  Society  had  under  its  instruction  nearly  200 
children,  in  a  brick  building,  and  another  building  for  teachers,  etc."  He  was 
also  associated  with  Robert  Raikes  in  his  earliest  efforts  to  organize  Sunday  Schools 
in  the  city  of  London  and  its  suburbs. 

In  1789,  Thomas  Stokes  chartered  a  vessel  and  came  to  this  country,  bringing 
with  him  his  wife  and  children,  a  man  servant  and  maid,  household  furniture  and 
silver.  He  was  a  founder  of  the  American  Bible  Society,  the  American  Tract 
Society,  and  the  New  York  Peace  Society. 

Miss  Stokes'  mother  was  descended  from  Puritan  ancestors,  numbering  among 
them  the  colonial  governors,  Thomas  Dudley,  second  Governor  of  Massachusetts, 

7 


8  EDUCATIONAL  ADAPTATIONS 

and  John  Haynes  and  George  Wyllys,  governors  of  Connecticut.  They  were  men 
eminent  for  the  faithful  service  they  rendered  to  the  young  and  growing  republic. 

Her  grandfather,  Anson  Greene  Phelps,  was  a  man  of  ability  and  Christian 
character.  He  was  "president  of  the  New  York  Colonization  Society  and  of  the 
New  York  Blind  Asylum,  and  was  very  active  in  religious  and  benevolent  works. 
...  He  was  one  of  the  founders  of  the  American  Board  of  Commissioners  for 
Foreign  Missions."  He  was  a  founder  of  the  American  Tract  Society,  the  Domestic 
Missionary  Society,  the  Marine  Bible  Society,  and  the  New  York  Port  Society. 
He  was  for  a  long  time  a  manager  of  the  American  Bible  Society.  He  was  asso- 
ciated in  several  of  these  societies  with  Miss  Stokes'  grandfather,  Thomas  Stokes. 
At  his  death  he  left  more  money  for  religious  purposes  than  any  man  previously 
had  left  in  the  State  of  New  York.  Besides  other  gifts  to  his  grandchildren  he 
left  to  each  $5,000,  with  the  request  that  the  income  should  be  forever  devoted  to 
the  spread  of  the  gospel. 

Miss  Stokes'  father,  James  Stokes,  "was  interested  in  founding  the  Association 
for  Improving  the  Condition  of  the  Poor,  and  was  director  in  the  Hospital  for 
Ruptured  and  Crippled,  the  New  York  Eye  and  Ear  Infirmary,  the  Society  for 
the  Prevention  of  Cruelty  to  Animals,  and  the  Greenwich  Savings  Bank.  He 
visited  in  Bellevue  Hospital  and  taught  a  Bible  class  there.  He  gave  much  time 
to  work  for  public  schools."  He  was  interested  in  the  welfare  of  immigrants  and 
was  a  trustee  of  the  Young  Men's  Christian  Association. 

Mrs.  James  Stokes  was  a  directress  of  the  New  York  Colored  Orphan  Asylum  # 
She  was  interested  in  the  abolition  of  slavery  and  in  the  advance  of  temperance, 
and  was  untiring  in  a  quiet,  modest  way  in  relieving  suffering  and  turning  many 
from  wrong-doing  to  Christ,  by  whose  help  they  could  resist  temptation.  Her 
daughter,  not  long  before  her  mother's  death,  asked  her  what  she  thought  had 
given  her  the  truest  happiness  in  life.  Her  mother  thought  a  moment  and  answered : 
"Overcoming  evil  with  good." 

The  good  and  helpful  lives  of  these  ancestors  combined  in  forming  the  character 
and  influencing  the  life  of  Caroline  Phelps  Stokes.  Her  early  life  was  spent  in 
happy  surroundings.  Her  grandfather,  Anson  G.  Phelps,  lived  at  that  time  in  a 
fine  Colonial  house  on  the  East  River  which  had  been  built  by  Henry  A.  Coster,  a 
wealthy  Dutch  merchant.  At  his  death  his  widow  married  Dr.  Hosack,  an  eminent 
botanist  whose  Botanical  Garden  on  Fifth  Avenue  just  below  51st  Street  was  left 
by  his  widow  to  Columbia  University.  The  yew  trees  that  until  lately  stood  on 
either  side  of  the  long  flight  of  steps  leading  to  the  University  Library  were  from 
Dr.  Ilosack's  Botanical  Garden.  Miss  Stokes'  grandfather  had  bought  the  house 
from  Mrs.  Hosack,  and  here  her  mother  was  married  to  James  Stokes.  On  this 
property,  a  short  distance  from  the  house  of  Anson  G.  Phelps,  a  few  years  later 
Mr.  and  Mrs.  James  Stokes  built  their  home,  calling  it  Clifton  Cottage.  A  large 
conservatory  which  Dr.  Hosack  had  built  was  included  in  the  cottage. 

Here,  in  a  beautiful  garden  sloping  down  to  the  East  River,  Caroline  spent 


INTRODUCTION  9 

happy  days  playing  under  the  long  row  of  chestnut  trees,  or,  in  the  springtime, 
under  the  fruit  trees  in  full  blossom;  sometimes  walking  down  the  path  bordered 
by  ancient  box,  hand  in  hand  with  her  grandfather  Phelps,  to  take  early  breakfast 
with  him  after  he  had  been  to  the  nursery  of  her  mother's  house,  where  he  used 
to  trot  the  children  on  his  knee  singing  the  popular  ballad: 

"Hurrah!     Hurrah!     the  country's  rising 
For  Henry  Clay  and  Frelinghuysen !" 

Henry  Clay  was  a  friend  of  Anson  G.  Phelps,  and  he  was  anxious  to  have  him  be- 
come President. 

At  the  age  of  three  she  moved  with  her  family  to  a  large  and  commodious 
house  on  Madison  Square,  where  there  was  also  room  for  a  small  garden  with 
trees,  shrubs,  and  flowers  brought  from  the  place  on  the  East  River  to  keep  in 
remembrance  the  large  and  beautiful  garden  where  she  and  her  brothers  and 
sisters  had  spent  a  happy  childhood.  The  new  house  was  at  37  Madison  Avenue, 
and  the  adjoining  vacant  property,  where  later  the  house  of  Leonard  W.  Jeiome, 
long  occupied  by  the  Union  League  Club,  was  built,  was  used  as  a  cow  pasture  in 
the  summer  and  a  skating  pond  in  the  winter. 

Miss  Stokes'  summers  were  spent  at  Ansonia,  Connecticut,  a  town  founded 
by  her  grandfather,  Anson  G.  Phelps,  and  named  after  him.  Her  mother  was  fond 
of  reading  and  impressed  on  her  children  its  value  as  a  means  of  education.  Her 
rule  for  her  children  was  to  read  histories  and  serious  books  in  the  morning  and 
stories  the  latter  part  of  the  day.  Each  morning  at  eleven  o'clock  on  the  warm 
summer  days  the  children  and  the  mother  sat  on  the  wide  piazza  or  under  the  trees 
while  the  mother  read  aloud,  the  large  family  of  children  sewing  or  engaged  in 
some  manual  work.  The  work  on  Saturday  morning  was  paid  for,  and  each  child 
gave  the  amount  to  missions.  The  autumn  evenings  in  the  dining-room  at  Ansonia 
cannot  easily  be  forgotten,  when  the  household  gathered  around  the  old  mahogany 
table  brought  by  Miss  Stokes'  grandfather,  Thomas  Stokes,  from  England.  The 
wood  fire  burned  on  the  hearth  and  the  mother  read  aloud  by  candle-light,  while 
the  entire  household  were  engaged  in  some  useful  work.  Constantly  and  un- 
tiringly a  devotedly  Christian  mother  prepared  her  children  for  later  life. 

None  of  her  sisters  had  been  educated  away  from  home,  but  Miss  Stokes  early 
decided  that  she  wished  to  be  sent  to  a  boarding-school,  and  Miss  Porter's  school 
in  Farmington,  Connecticut,  was  selected.  Here  she  stood  well  in  her  classes, 
winning  the  affection  and  respect  of  teachers  and  pupils.  One  of  her  fellow-students 
said  that  when  some  act  which  would  be  as  well  left  undone  was  contemplated, 
Caroline's  words,  "I  wouldn't  do  that,"  so  earnestly  and  seriously  spoken  were 
sufficient  to  restrain. 

At  Farmington  she  rode,  an  exercise  she  delighted  in,  and  in  which  she  ex- 
celled. She  often  spoke  of  happy  early  morning  rides  through  the  country  roads 
and  under  the  pine  trees  where  beds  of  pink  lady's  slippers  grew.     A  frequent 


10  EDUCATIONAL  ADAPTATIONS 

companion  was  her  cousin,  Grace  Dodge,  who  later  in  life  took  such  a  leading  part 
in  helpful  work  in  New  York,  especially  in  connection  with  Teachers  College  and 
in  the  broadening  out  of  the  Young  Women's  Christian  Association  which  enabled 
it  to  do  such  wonderful  work  in  the  late  war. 

On  her  sixteenth  birthday  Miss  Stokes  united  with  the  Madison  Square 
Presbyterian  Church,  of  which  Dr.  "William  Adams  was  then  the  pastor.  On 
uniting  with  the  church  she  wrote  in  her  journal:  "O  Dear  Blessed  Jesus,  I  wish 
to  give  myself  away,  body  and  soul,  to  the  Blessed  Saviour  who  has  died 
for  me.  O  Blessed  Saviour,  help  me;  give  me  the  peace  which  the  world 
cannot  impart;  keep  me  for  thine  own.  After  the  communion  I  feel,  dear  Jesus, 
how  sweet  it  is  to  give  myself  to  Thee.  May  I  never  regret  this  day,  keep  me 
holy."  The  closing  night  of  her  seventeenth  year  she  wrote:  "What  have  I  done 
this  year  to  make  any  one  better  or  happier?  Have  I  grown  better  myself?  Oh, 
may  I  spend  the  coming  year  more  to  God's  glory  and  my  own  happiness."  On 
her  eighteenth  birthday  she  wrote:  "With  God's  help  I  will  endeavor  to  live  the 
years  that  still  remain  with  a  fixed  and  determined  purpose  to  do  my  duty,  no 
matter  how  hard  or  disagreeable  that  duty  may  be." 

In  her  journal  was  found  the  following,  which  was  written  the  night  after  she 
had  heard  her  father's  wishes  as  expressed  in  his  will.  "Today  we  have  listened 
to  father's  last  wishes  in  regard  to  earthly  things  .  .  .  and  before  I  sleep  I  want  to 
renewedly  dedicate  myself  and  all  that  I  have  to  God  and  ask  that  He  will  show  me 
just  how  He  would  have  me  use  what  He  has  entrusted  to  my  care.  May  I  re- 
member that  I  must  give  an  account  of  my  stewardship  and  may  I  in  future  live 
to  God's  glory." 

In  1882  at  Newport  she  wrote:  "I  do  want  to  be  useful."  Later  in  life  when 
away  from  New  York  she  repeatedly  attended  the  Episcopal  Church  and  was  very 
much  attached  to  its  services.  She  also,  like  her  mother,  felt  that  the  different 
parts  of  the  Christian  church  should  be  united,  and  was  in  sympathy  with  and 
helped  the  various  branches  of  the  church. 

Miss  Stokes  was  not  fond  of  city  life,  and  on  returning  to  New  York  from 
Farmington  she  was  not  altogether  happy.  The  feeling  of  the  limited  space,  the 
poverty  and  sorrow  of  the  world,  often  oppressed  her.  She  wrote  in  her  journal, 
December  2,  1873:  "I  do  not  think  I  like  living  in  a  city;  there  is  so  much  sorrow, 
sin  and  distress  on  every  side  that  the  little  one  can  do  seems  to  make  little  or  no 
impression,  and  it  makes  me  unhappy  to  see  all  the  trouble  and  not  do  anything 
to  relieve  it."  She  began  to  try  and  remove  the  sorrow  and  wrong  that  she  saw 
about  her.  She  taught  classes  in  the  Sunday  School  and  sewing  school  at  the 
Phelps  Mission,  entering  into  the  lives  of  her  pupils,  being  their  friend  and  adviser 
all  through  her  life.  She  was  a  member  of  the  Farmington  Sewing  Class,  went 
once  a  week  to  a  club  for  working  girls,  and  later  became  a  manager  of  the  Peabody 
Home  for  Aged  and  Infirm  Women.  When  Mr.  Dwight  L.  Moody  held  his  first 
meetings  in  New  York,  he  and  Mr.  Sankey  took  Sunday  supper  at  the  home  of 


INTRODUCTION  11 

Mr.  and  Mrs.  James  Stokes,  and  Miss  Stokes  helped  in  the  services  held  in  the 
old  Madison  Square  Garden. 

Two  characteristics  of  Miss  Stokes  were  definiteness  and  ability  to  make  quick 
and  accurate  decisions.  She  had  a  logical  mind,  a  keen  insight  into  character, 
wanting  always  to  see  things  exactly  as  they  were,  and  a  delicate  sense  of  humor. 
Whether  in  judging  the  character  of  people,  in  making  political  decisions,  in  judging 
what  was  beautiful  in  nature  and  art,  or  in  deciding  what  was  right  in  conduct, 
Miss  Stokes  came  to  her  own  conclusions  and  did  not  blindly  accept  the  views  or 
opinions  of  others,  although  taking  them  into  consideration.  She  had,  especially  in 
the  later  years  of  her  life,  a  great  love  for  nature.  Her  face  would  glow  with  pleasure 
on  seeing  beautiful  scenery  or  hearing  of  a  noble  deed.  She  was  artistic  in  tem- 
perament and  painted  in  water  colors  and  etched.  She  was  interested  in  the 
wild  flowers  and  birds,  and  joined  in  giving  a  fund  to  the  New  York  Botanical 
Garden  for  the  preservation  of  wild  flowers.  She  also  gave  a  fund  for  the  protection 
of  wild  birds.  In  this  country,  and  wherever  she  traveled,  she  helped  to  forward 
humane  treatment  of  animals.  Her  whole  nature  was  very  intense;  either  sorrow 
or  happiness  affected  her  deeply.  Her  love  of  justice  was  deep  and  strong,  and 
the  definite  purpose  of  her  life  was  to  keep  God's  commandments.  The  text  she 
repeated  more  constantly  than  any  other  was,  "What  doth  the  Lord  require  of  thee, 
but  to  do  justly,  and  to  love  mercy,  and  to  walk  humbly  with  thy  God?"  Next 
to  the  strong  desire  to  do  right  came  the  wish  to  help  others  to  help  themselves, 
or  practical  charity  as  she  called  it,  and  to  help  them  to  lead  Christ-like  lives. 
She  followed  her  Master,  going  about  doing  good. 

Miss  Stokes  was  naturally  interested  in  the  Negro  race.  Her  grandfather, 
Anson  G.  Phelps,  when  president  of  the  New  York  Colonization  Society,  helped 
to  establish  the  Republic  of  Liberia.  Its  first  president,  J.  J.  Roberts,  made  long 
visits  with  his  wife  at  the  homes  of  Anson  G.  Phelps  and  James  Stokes.  In  1893 
Miss  Stokes,  during  a  trip  abroad,  had  the  pleasure  of  meeting  Mrs.  Roberts,  then 
living  in  London.  The  first  Liberian  flag  was  made  at  the  home  of  Mr.  and  Mrs. 
James  Stokes. 

Miss  Stokes  was  familiar  with  the  conditions  in  the  South  and  had  visited  the 
more  important  schools  for  the  education  of  colored  people  and  Indians.  She 
had  traveled  from  Hampton  to  Tuskegee,  the  child  of  Hampton.  She  had  visited 
Calhoun,  although  a  freshet  had  broken  down  the  bridge  over  which  she  was  to 
drive  and  caused  the  river  to  cover  the  low  lands,  obliging  her  to  make  a  wide 
detour.  But  this  did  not  discourage  her,  and  she  proceeded  until  she  reached  the 
school,  although  it  took  a  day  longer.  She  made  this  journey  by  carriage  so  as  to 
better  see  conditions  in  the  surrounding  country.  While  at  Calhoun  she  sent  an 
account  of  the  school  with  illustrations  to  The  Churchman. 

Among  her  gifts  to  the  Negro  race  were  an  organ  to  Haines  Industrial  School, 
and  the  Roberts  Memorial  Scholarship  to  Tuskegee  Institute;  she  joined  in  giving 
to  Tuskegee  bathhouses,  entrance  gates,  Dorothy  Hall — an  industrial  building  for 

L      IDEOLOGIC 


12  EDUCATIONAL  ADAPTATIONS 

girls — and  the  chapel.  To  the  New  York  Colored  Orphan  Asylum  she  joined  in 
giving  a  cottage  in  memory  of  her  mother. 

While  spending  a  winter  in  Asheville,  North  Carolina,  she  more  fully  realized 
the  need  of  education  for  the  white  population,  both  North  and  South,  living  away 
from  towns.  She  also  felt  the  responsibility  of  developing  the  Indian,  the  original 
inhabitant  of  our  country,  and  she  gave  aid  to  Indian  education  at  Hampton  and 
to  the  work  for  Indians  in  California. 

While  a  child  she  felt  the  need  of  better  housing  for  the  poor  of  New  York. 
When  the  Improved  Dwellings  Association  was  formed,  her  mother  became  a 
stockholder,  and  years  afterward  Miss  Stokes  took  great  interest  in  the  develop- 
ment of  the  City  and  Suburban  Homes  Company.  She  proposed  to  a  member  of 
her  family  to  join  with  her  in  building  two  improved  tenements  and  to  put  them 
under  the  care  of  this  Company,  which  was  done.  They  were  designed  especially 
for  the  use  of  colored  people,  and  were  erected  in  a  district  where  large  numbers 
of  colored  people  lived.     She  gave  the  name  of  "Tuskegee"  to  these  two  buildings. 

Through  Mrs.  Josephine  Shaw  Lowell  she  became  especially  interested  in 
Civil  Service  Reform,  and  was  glad  to  help  by  holding  a  meeting  in  her  home  on 
Madison  Square,  where  Theodore  Roosevelt,  then  Police  Commissioner,  spoke. 

After  the  death  of  Miss  Stokes'  parents  she  traveled  extensively.  A  journey 
was  made  around  the  world.  Wherever  she  went  she  investigated  philanthropic 
and  Christian  work  and  aided  where  her  judgment  approved.  During  her  travels 
she  gave  away  Testaments  and  good  books  where  she  saw  the  need.  While  in 
India  the  plague  was  raging  in  some  parts,  and  she  offered  her  services  to  the 
hospital  at  Bombay  under  the  management  of  an  English  Protestant  Sisterhood. 
She  very  regretfully  decided  not  to  go  to  the  hospital  when  the  Sisters  expressed 
their  unwillingness  to  take  the  responsibility  of  having  so  inexperienced  a  person 
in  the  hospital  who  could  not  speak  the  language,  and  Avhen  she  found  that  her 
family  would  remain  in  India  exposed  to  the  plague  if  she  remained.  She  joined 
with  her  family  in  supplying  means  for  one  or  two  extra  nurses  for  the  hospital, 
and  for  years  she  corresponded  with  the  Mother  Superior. 

Miss  Stokes  had  looked  forward  with  deep  interest  to  a  journey  through  Pales- 
tine. Six  weeks  of  this  journey  were  spent  in  tent  life.  Referring  to  Jerusalem, 
she  writes  to  a  friend:  "I  am  thankful  to  have  had  a  very  beautiful  approach  to 
the  city:  for  I  had  a  horse  meet  me  some  distance  outside  of  the  walls,  and  rode 
through  the  Damascus  Gate  directly  to  the  Mount  of  Olives,  where  just  at  sunset 
the  city  is  seen  in  its  fullest  beauty,  and  it  seemed  very  appropriate  to  sing,  all 
by  myself,  before  joining  the  others,  'Jerusalem  the  Golden,'  though  that,  of 
course,  refers  to  a  far  more  perfect  'Holy  City.'" 

She  was  interested  in  the  Mac-All  Mission  in  France  from  its  commencement. 
During  a  winter  in  Tangiers  she  constantly  visited  a  prison  which  was  in  a  wretched 
condition  and  helped  toward  its  amelioration.  She  was  also  much  interested  in 
the  hospital  there  under  English  management.     For  years  she  helped  toward  the 


INTRODUCTION  13 

salary  of  a  medical  missionary  in  Egypt  and  joined  in  giving  land  and  a  building 
for  an  Italian  boys'  school  on  the  hills  outside  of  Florence.  She  gave  funds  to 
start  a  training  school  for  nurses  in  connection  with  the  American  College  in  Beirut. 
She  arranged  with  Dr.  Percival,  Head  Master  of  Rugby,  England,  whom  she  met 
at  Chautauqua  in  the  summer  of  1901,  to  have  a  medallion  placed  in  Rugby  Chapel 
in  memory  of  Arthur  Clough,  whose  poems  she  greatly  enjoyed. 

Not  long  after  her  return  from  the  trip  around  the  world,  Miss  Stokes  was 
obliged  by  ill  health  to  give  up  active  work  and  spent  most  of  the  remaining  years 
of  her  life  in  California.  She  bore  ill  health  with  wonderful  bravery  and  cheerfulness, 
scarcely  ever  referring  to  it. 

She  wrote  during  this  period  a  charming  novel,  a  story  containing  many  of  the 
incidents  of  her  journey  around  the  world.  The  characters  were  drawn  clearly 
and  cleverly,  the  descriptions  of  scenery  were  accurate,  and  a  delightful  sense  of 
humor  runs  through  the  story.  She  prepared  an  interesting  bookof  Bible  texts 
called  "Heaven  the  Country,  Christ  the  Way,"  leaving  alternate  blank  pages  on 
which  to  write  accounts  of  travels,  or  selections  which  the  reader  might  wish  to 
preserve. 

Miss  Stokes  read  much,  and  although  leading  a  very  busy  life,  the  love  of  read- 
ing was  so  keen  that  she  found  time  to  read  most  that  was  good  in  modern  literature, 
and  a  great  deal  in  the  standard  books  of  the  past. 

She  was  in  the  habit  of  destroying  most  of  her  letters,  but  in  years  of  ill  health 
they  accumulated,  and  from  these  and  the  knowledge  of  her  friends  it  would  seem 
that  no  day  passed  without  some  kindness  done,  some  helpful  word  said  or  written. 
She  taught  a  class  of  children  on  Sundays  who  came  to  her  house  up  to  the  time  of 
her  death.  The  following  lines  found  among  her  papers  indicate  her  attitude  of 
mind  toward  following  duty  under  difficulties : 

"But  tasks,  in  hours  of  insight  willed, 
Can  be  through  hours  of  gloom  fulfilled." 

Among  Miss  Stokes'  more  important  public  gifts  not  already  mentioned  are 
the  following: 

To  New  York  she  gave  public  baths,  and,  with  a  member  of  her  family,  built 
St.  Paul's  Chapel  for  Columbia  University. 

Seeing  the  need  of  a  rest  room  and  restaurant  in  the  lower  part  of  the  city 
for  business  women,  she  joined  with  another  member  of  her  family  in  opening  one. 
Later,  when  Dr.  Geer,  the  earnest  and  devoted  rector  of  St.  Paul's,  wished  to  open 
a  day  and  night  rest  room  and  restaurant  for  girls  who  were  employed  downtown, 
she  at  once  wrote  him  offering  to  join  in  giving  the  assistance  he  needed  to  start 
this  work. 

She  also  gave  toward  a  new  building  for  the  Peabody  Home  for  Aged  and 
Infirm  Women. 

In   her  will,   Miss   Stokes  left  many  gifts  to   individuals  and  charities,  and 


14  EDUCATIONAL  ADAPTATIONS 

established  the  Phelps-Stokes  Fund  to  carry  on  the  interests  she  had  furthered 
during  her  life. 

To  the  city  of  Ansonia,  Conn.,  she  gave  a  Public  Library  in  memory  of  her 
grandfather,  Anson  G.  Phelps,  founder  of  the  town,  and  her  father  and  mother; 
and  also  a  fountain  in  connection  with  the  Library  in  memory  of  Anne  Sewall. 

She  joined  with  another  in  building  AVoodbridge  Hall,  the  administration 
building  of  Yale  University,  and  in  giving  Memorial  Gates  to  the  Old  South 
Church  Cemetery  in  Hartford,  Conn.,  in  memory  of  her  ancestor,  Governor  John 
Haynes. 

She  also  gave  to  New  York  a  wagon  called  "The  Fire  Fly,"  which  is  still  doing 
good  work  in  going  to  places  where  drivers  and  other  men  congregate  and  furnish- 
ing them  with  hot  coffee  and  sandwiches  at  hours  of  the  day  and  night  when  most 
needed. 

In  appearance  Miss  Stokes  was  handsome  and  distinguished,  with  great  charm 
of  personality.  She  was  attractive  at  all  times,  whether  in  her  simple,  everyday 
dress,  or  in  white  satin  and  old  lace,  as  on  the  occasion  of  her  presentation  to  Queen 
Margherita  of  Italy.  In  a  long  camping  journey  through  Palestine  she  rode  an 
easy-gaited,  well-made  bay,  and  in  her  well-fitting  riding  habit,  her  panama  hat 
wound  around  with  soft  white  muslin,  almost  always  with  some  wild  flowers  in 
the  folds,  generally  leading  the  party,  erect,  her  English  riding  crop  in  her  hand, 
and  holding  her  horse  well  in,  she  made  a  charming  picture. 

Her  smile  was  especially  beautiful.  Someone  who  knew  her  and  was  qualified 
to  judge  said,  "It  was  the  smile  of  angels."  A  niece  wrote:  "One  can  never  think 
of  her  without  very  especially  feeling  the  rare  charm  and  inspiration  of  her  very 
living,  beautiful  spirit  which  always  made  her  smile  to  me  the  most  beautiful  and 
fascinating  I  have  ever  seen.  Ever  since  a  little  child  I  could  never  think  of  Aunt 
Carrie  without  seeming  to  see  her  smile  in  that  radiant  way  that  seemed  to  go 
straight  to  one's  very  heart  and  made  you  feel  that  she  at  once  understood  you  in 
a  very  especial  way." 

The  last  winter  of  her  life  was  spent  in  her  home  at  Redlands,  California. 
Ill  health  did  not  prevent  her  enjoying  driving  tours  and  spending  days  out  of 
doors  among  the  beautiful  scenery  of  the  mountains.  She  died  in  Redlands, 
April  26,  1909.  The  last  day  of  her  life  here  was  spent  from  early  morning  until 
sunset  in  kind,  thoughtful  deeds  for  others,  and  as  the  sun  set  behind  the  moun- 
tains her  spirit  passed  peacefully  to  the  Father's  Other  Home,  and  there  came  to 
her  that  "Peace  with  Joy"  which  she  had  herself  asked  for  in  a  poem  she  had 
written: 

God  grant  when  life  is  ended, 

And  day's  long  work  is  done. 
True  Peace  with  Joy  eternal, 
Shall  come  with  setting  sun. 

Olivia  E.  Phelps  Stokes. 


INTRODUCTION  15 


HISTORY  OF  THE  PHELPS-STOKES  FUND 

The  seventeenth  clause  of  the  will  of  Caroline  Phelps  Stokes  read  in  part  as 
follows : 

After  all  bequests  and  devises  heretofore  made  in  this  will  shall  have  been  first  paid  by 
my  executors,  I  direct  that  all  my  residuary  estate  of  whatever  kind  and  description  and 
wheresoever  situated  and  however  evidenced  shall  be  given  by  my  executors  to  the  following 
persons  or  such  of  them  as  may  be  living  at  the  time  of  my  death  whom  with  their  successors 
I  appoint  trustees  to  hold  the  same  in  trust  forever  to  constitute  a  fund  to  be  known  as  the 
Phelps-Stokes  Fund,  namely:  The  Protestant  Episcopal  Bishop  of  New  York  City,  for  the 
time  being,  the  Chancellor  of  the  University  of  the  City  of  New  York  for  the  time  being, 
the  Reverend  Dr.  Lyman  Abbott  of  Brooklyn,  Olivia  Egleston  Phelps  Stokes,  I.  Newton 
Phelps  Stokes,  Helen  Olivia  Phelps  Stokes,  F.  Louis  Slade,  Mabel  Slade,  Caroline  M.  Phelps 
Stokes,  Grace  H.  Dodge  and  Arthur  Curtiss  James,  to  be  invested  and  kept  invested  by  them 
and  their  successors,  the  interest  and  net  income  of  such  fund  to  be  used  by  them  and  their 
successors  for  the  erection  or  improvement  of  tenement  house  dwellings  in  New  York  City 
for  the  poor  families  of  New  York  City  and  for  educational  purposes  in  the  education  of 
negroes  both  in  Africa  and  the  United  States,  North  American  Indians  and  needy  and 
deserving  white  students. 

First  Meeting  of  Trustees 

In  accordance  with  the  terms  of  this  will  the  persons  named  as  Trustees  of  the 
Phelps-Stokes  Fund  met  at  the  residence  of  Anson  Phelps  Stokes,  230  Madison 
Avenue,  New  York,  April  28,  1910.  This  meeting  was  called  by  Mr.  Anson  Phelps 
Stokes  and  Miss  Olivia  E.  P.  Stokes.  On  motion  Bishop  Greer  was  elected  tempor- 
ary chairman,  and  Francis  Louis  Slade  temporary  secretary.  Mr.  Anson  Phelps 
Stokes  read  a  statement  in  regard  to  the  will  of  his  sister,  Caroline  Phelps  Stokes, 
and  Mr.  I.  N.  Phelps  Stokes  read  some  brief  extracts  from  some  of  her  writings 
showing  her  motives  in  the  creation  of  the  Trust,  and  also  a  brief  sketch  of  her  life. 

Three  resignations  of  the  Trustees  named  in  the  will  were  then  presented,  as 
follows:  Rev.  Lyman  Abbott,  Arthur  Curtiss  James,  and  Mabel  Slade  Arbuthnot. 
To  fill  these  vacancies  the  following  persons  were  elected  as  members  of  the  Board 
of  Trustees:  Anson  Phelps  Stokes,  Jr.,  Edward  W.  Sheldon,  and  John  Sherman 
Hoyt. 

At  this  first  meeting  it  was 

Resolved,  that  the  Trustees  appoint  a  Committee  on  Plan  and  Scope  to  report  on  details 
of  organization,  etc.,  with  recommendations  to  the  next  meeting  of  the  Trustees,  and  in  the 
interim  to  receive  and  take  necessary  action  upon  correspondence,  and  to  employ  therefor 
clerical  help  if  necessary. 

Miss  O.  E.  Phelps  Stokes  was  elected  chairman  of  this  committee,  and  the 
following  additional  members  were  named:  I.  N.  Phelps  Stokes,  vice-chairman; 
F.  L.  Slade,  treasurer;  Rev.  Anson  Phelps  Stokes,  Jr.,  secretary;  and  Helen  O. 
Phelps  Stokes. 


16  EDUCATIONAL  ADAPTATIONS 

At  a  subsequent  meeting  the  Committee  on  Plan  and  Scope  recommended 
the  appointment  of  an  Executive  Committee,  a  Committee  on  Education,  and  a 
Committee  on  Housing,  each  of  the  latter  committees  to  consist  of  two  members 
of  the  Executive  Committee  and  one  member  of  the  Board  of  Trustees  not  a  member 
of  the  Executive  Committee.  It  was  suggested  by  Miss  Olivia  Stokes  that  it  might 
be  appropriate  for  the  board  always  to  include  a  woman.  These  recommendations 
were  approved  by  the  Trustees. 

Act  of  Incorporation 

The  Trustees  of  the  Phelps-Stokes  Fund  were  incorporated  by  the  Legislature 
of  the  State  of  New  York  on  May  10,  1911.  The  act  of  incorporation  follows  the 
general  provisions  of  Miss  Stokes'  will  and  indicates  the  breadth  of  her  educational 
and  philanthropic  interests.     It  reads  as  follows: 

An  act  to  incorporate  the  Trustees  of  the  Phelps-Stokes  Fund.  The  people  of  the  State 
of  New  York,  represented  in  Senate  and  Assembly,  do  enact  as  follows : 

Section  I.  David  H.  Greer,  John  MacCracken,  Olivia  Egleston  Phelps  Stokes,  Isaac 
Newton  Phelps  Stokes,  Helen  Olivia  Phelps  Stokes,  Francis  Louis  Slade,  Caroline  M.  Phelps 
Stokes  Hunter,  Grace  H.  Dodge,  Anson  Phelps  Stokes,  Junior,  John  Sherman  Hoyt  and 
Edward  W.  Sheldon,  together  with  such  persons  as  they  may  associate  with  themselves  and 
their  successors,  are  hereby  constituted  a  body  corporate  by  the  name  of  The  Trustees  of  the 
Phelps-Stokes  Fund  for  the  purpose  of  receiving  the  trust  estate,  property  and  funds  now 
in  the  hands  of  the  above  named  persons  as  trustees  or  hereafter  received  by  them  under 
the  seventeenth  clause  of  the  will  of  Caroline  Phelps  Stokes,  deceased,  dated  June  twenty- 
nine,  eighteen  hundred  and  ninety-three,  and  admitted  to  probate  by  the  surrogates'  court 
of  New  York  County,  on  November  nine,  nineteen  hundred  and  nine,  which  trust  estate, 
property  and  funds  such  testamentary  trustees  are  hereby  authorized  to  convey,  transfer 
and  set  over  to  such  corporation,  and  for  the  purpose  of  receiving  any  other  funds  which 
may  hereafter  be  given  to  such  corporation  and  maintaining  such  fund  or  funds  and  investing 
the  same  and  applying  the  income  thereof  to  the  erection  and  improvement  of  tenement 
house  dwellings  in  the  city  of  New  York  for  the  poor  families  of  that  city,  either  directly  or 
by  the  acquisition  of  the  capital  stock  or  obligations  of  any  other  corporation  organized 
for  that  purpose;  and  for  the  education  of  negroes,  both  in  Africa  and  the  United  States, 
North  American  Indians  and  needy  and  deserving  white  students,  through  industrial  schools, 
the  founding  of  scholarships,  and  the  erection  or  endowment  of  school  buildings  or  chnpels. 
It  shall  be  within  the  purpose  of  said  corporation  to  use  any  means  to  such  ends  which  shall 
from  time  to  time  seem  expedient  to  its  members  or  trustees  including  research,  publication, 
the  establishment  and  maintenance  of  charitable  or  benevolent  activities,  agencies  and 
institutions,  and  the  aid  of  any  such  activities,  agencies  or  institutions  already  established. 

Section'  II.  The  corporation  hereby  formed  shall  have  power  to  take  and  hold  by 
bequest,  devise,  gift,  purchase  or  lease  either  absolutely  or  in  trust  for  any  of  its  purposes  any 
property,  real  or  personal,  without  limitation  as  to  amount  or  value  except  such  limitation, 
if  any,  as  the  legislature  has  heretofore  imposed  or  may  hereafter  impose;  to  lease,  mortgage, 
improve,  exchange,  sell,  convey  or  dispose  of  such  property  and  to  invest  and  reinvest 
the  principal  and  income  thereof  and  expend  the  principal  and  income  in  such  manner  as 


INTRODUCTION  17 

in  the  judgment  of  its  trustees  will  best  promote  its  objects.  It  shall  have  all  the  power  and 
be  subject  to  all  the  restrictions  which  now  pertain  by  law  to  membership  corporations  so 
far  as  the  same  are  applicable  thereto,  and  are  not  inconsistent  with  the  provisions  of  this  act. 

Section  III.  The  persons  named  in  section  one  of  this  act  shall  constitute  the  first  board 
of  trustees  and  the  members  of  the  corporation.  Vacancies  among  the  trustees  or  members 
shall  be  filled  by  remaining  trustees  in  such  manner  as  the  by-laws  of  the  corporation  shall 
prescribe.  Said  persons  or  a  majority  of  them  shall  hold  a  meeting,  elect  officers  and  adopt 
by-laws  not  inconsistent  with  the  constitution  and  laws  of  the  state.  The  by-laws  shall  pre- 
scribe the  number  of  trustees  by  whom  the  affairs  and  business  of  the  corporation  shall  be 
managed,  the  number  of  members  who  shall  constitute  a  quorum  for  the  transaction  of 
business  at  meetings  of  the  corporation,  the  powers  and  the  manner  of  selection  of  the  trustees 
and  officers  of  the  corporation  and  any  other  provisions  for  the  management  and  disposition 
of  the  property  and  the  regulation  of  the  affairs  of  the  corporation  which  may  be  deemed 
expedient. 

Section  IV.  This  act  shall  take  effect  immediately. 

In  pursuance  to  the  authority  conferred  upon  the  Trustees  by  the  Act  of  In- 
corporation the  Trust  Estate  was  conveyed  to  them  by  an  Act  of  Conveyance  on 
May  23,  1911. 

Final  Report  of  Committee  on  Plan  and  Scope 

At  a  meeting  held  May  24,  1911,  a  report  of  the  Committee  on  Plan  and  Scope, 
containing  the  following  recommendations,  was  presented  by  Mr.  I.  N.  Phelps 
Stokes,  who  had  been  elected  chairman  upon  the  resignation  of  Miss  Olivia  E. 
Phelps  Stokes.     His  report  duly  approved.     It  provided : 

1.  That  in  providing  for  the  establishment  of  the  Phelps-Stokes  Fund  the  testatrix 
showed  a  special,  although  by  no  means  an  exclusive,  interest  in  Negro  education. 

2.  That  it  is  wise  for  this  board  to  dispense  its  philanthropy  as  far  as  possible  through 
existing  institutions  of  proven  experience  and  of  assured  future  stability. 

3.  That  the  cooperation  of  the  best  white  citizens  of  the  South  is  of  prime  importance 
in  solving  the  problem  of  Negro  education. 

4.  That  the  board  will  be  justified  in  meeting  occasionally  the  whole  or  a  part  of  the 
expense  of  securing  investigation  and  reports  on  educational  institutions  or  problems,  when 
these  are  thought  to  be  of  great  significance. 

Committee  on  Education 

At  a  meeting  of  the  Trustees  on  November  20,  1912,  it  was  definitely  voted  to 
make  a  study  of  Negro  education  in  the  United  States. 

Voted:  to  authorize  the  Committee  on  Education  to  appoint  an  agent  of  the  Board 
...  to  make  a  field  study  of  Negro  education. 

Voted:  to  appropriate  a  sum  not  to  exceed  $-4,500  for  the  present  fiscal  year  for  the 
visitation  by  the  board's  agent  of  all  Negro  colleges  and  selected  Negro  schools  in  the  United 
States,  and  for  the  preparation  of  a  report  on  their  work,  condition,  needs,  etc.,  together  with 
such  discussion  as  may  seem  advisable. 

Voted:  to  authorize  the  treasurer  to  make  such  disbursements  for  salaries,  clerical 


18  EDUCATIONAL   ADAPTATIONS 

expenses,  travel,  etc.,  necessary  for  the  execution  of  this  work  and  within  the  total  $8,000 
appropriation,  as  may  be  approved  by  the  Committee  on  Education. 

Voted:  to  refer  to  the  Committee  on  Education  with  power  the  drawing  up  of  instructions 
for  its  agent  ami  the  making  of  all  arrangements  for  the  proposed  survey,  including  possible 
cooperation  with  the  United  States  Bureau  of  Education,  the  Slater  Fund  and  other  agencies. 

This  action  was  taken  by  the  Trustees  after  the  Committee  on  Education  had 
consulted  with  such  representative  leaders  in  southern  education  as  the  late  Edgar 
Gardner  Murphy,  of  Birmingham,  Alabama;  James  H.  Dillard,  of  the  Jeanes 
Fund  and  the  Slater  Board;  the  late  Hollis  Burke  Frissell,  of  Hampton  Institute; 
and  the  late  Booker  T.  Washington,  of  Tuskegee  Institute.  The  Trustees  believed 
that  such  a  survey  and  report  on  existing  conditions  would  prove  very  helpful 
to  them  in  the  administration  of  the  trust,  besides  furnishing  valuable  information 
to  many  other  groups.  A  cooperative  arrangement  with  the  United  States  Bureau 
of  Education  was  immediately  established.  A  memorandum,  drawn  up  by  the 
Bureau  of  Education  and  the  Trustees  of  the  Board  at  the  time  this  joint  work  was 
begun,  and  intended  for  use  in  answering  inquiries,  is  here  reproduced  as  showing 
the  origin  and  plan  of  the  survey: 

The  United  States  Bureau  of  Education  in  cooperation  with  the  Phelps-Stokes  Fund  is 
now  making  a  comprehensive  study  of  the  private  and  higher  schools  for  colored  people. 
This  study  is  undertaken  in  response  to  numerous  and  insistent  demands  for  knowledge  of 
these  schools,  the  number  of  which  is  constantly  increasing.  Thoughtful  people  of  the  North 
and  of  the  South,  white  and  colored,  are  more  and  more  puzzled  as  to  the  merits  and  demerits 
of  the  many  appeals  for  money  and  sympathy  in  behalf  of  all  sorts  and  conditions  of  institu- 
tions for  the  improvement  of  Negroes.  Letters  from  state  superintendents  of  education  in 
the  South  emphasize  the  need  of  a  complete  survey  of  the  whole  field.  At  a  recent  conference 
of  the  representatives  of  some  of  these  schools  held  in  New  York,  it  was  the  consensus  of 
opinion  that  there  is  much  duplication  of  effort  in  some  sections  but  much  more  of  neglect 
in  many  other  sections.  Every  educational  board  interested  in  the  colored  people  and 
almost  every  individual  who  contributes  to  this  cause  is  calling  for  information.  After 
considerable  discussion  of  this  need  by  Dr.  Dillard  of  the  Jeanes  Fund  and  the  Slater  Board, 
and  by  other  representatives  of  the  Conference  for  Education  in  the  South,  it  was  decided  to 
appeal  to  the  United  States  Commissioner  of  Education  for  a  thorough  study  of  the  private 
and  higher  schools  for  Negroes. 

A  remarkable  evidence  of  the  importance  of  this  survey  is  the  fact  that  about  the  same 
time  two  other  important  organizations  interested  in  colored  schools  decided  to  assemble 
information  on  this  subject.  Dr.  J.  H.  Dillard,  secretary  of  the  Slater  Board,  obtained 
permission  of  that  body  to  begin  the  study.  It  was  at  this  time  also  that  the  trustees  of  the 
Phelps-Stokes  Fund,  confronted  by  appeals  from  all  sorts  and  conditions  of  schools,  decided 
to  make  a  thorough  survey  of  the  situation. 

The  cooperation  of  the  Bureau  of  Education  and  the  Phelps-Stokes  Fund  is  the  result 
of  the  close  relationship  of  the  representatives  of  the  Slater  Board,  the  Conference  for  Educa- 
tion in  the  South,  and  the  trustees  of  the  Phelps-Stokes  Fund  with  each  other  and  with 
Commissioner  Claxton.  Through  this  cooperation  unnecessary  duplication  is  avoided  and 
time,  effort,  and  money  are  saved. 


INTRODUCTION  19 

The  main  purpose  was  to  supply  through  an  impartial  investigation  a  body  of 
facts  which  should  be  available  to  all  interested,  showing  the  status  of  Negro  educa- 
tion, by  an  examination  of  the  various  colleges  and  public  and  private  schools  for 
colored  youth  in  the  United  States.  It  was  believed,  and  the  results  of  the  ex- 
amination have  confirmed  the  belief,  that  there  is  no  more  important  agency  to 
bring  about  the  improvement  of  education  than  dignified  publicity  regarding 
educational  conditions.  It  brings  good  institutions  and  good  methods  to  the 
favorable  attention  of  patrons,  voters,  and  teachers  everywhere,  and  similarlv, 
by  disclosing  the  actual  facts,  shows  what  institutions  and  methods  are  unworthv 
of  support. 

The  relationship  thus  established  continued  from  January  1,  1913,  to  July  1, 
1919.  The  work  accomplished  included  not  only  the  survey,  but  the  formation 
of  the  Division  of  Racial  Groups  in  the  Bureau  of  Education,  described  at  length 
in  a  later  chapter. 

The  work  of  investigation  was  placed  in  charge  of  Dr.  Thomas  Jesse  Jones, 
the  Educational  Director  of  the  Fund.  His  assistants  in  the  work  were  O.  W. 
Taylor,  T.  J.  Woofter,  Jr.,  and  Walter  B.  Hill. 

Committee  on  Housing 

At  a  meeting  held  November  15,  1911,  the  Executive  Committee  made  the 
following  suggestions  for  the  consideration  of  the  Trustees: 

That  one-third  of  the  net  income  accumulated  to  date,  and  one-third  of  the  net  income 
for  the  fiscal  year  beginning  November  1,  1911,  be  set  aside  to  accumulate  for  housing 
purposes  in  connection  with  future  recommendations  of  the  Sub-Committee  on  Housing,  and 
that  two-thirds  be  set  aside  for  educational  purposes  to  be  determined  upon  by  the  board  on 
the  recommendation  of  the  Committee  on  Education. 

The  recommendations  were  approved  at  a  meeting  of  the  Trustees  on  November 
20,  1912,  and  it  was  voted: 

That  the  Housing  Sub-Committee's  proportion  of  the  income  be  set  aside  to  accumulate 
until  further  action  by  the  Board  of  Trustees. 

This  action  was  taken  because,  in  the  opinion  of  the  Trustees,  the  greatly  in- 
creased cost  of  construction  made  it  undesirable  to  enter  upon  any  building  opera- 
tions in  the  near  future. 

In  October,  1915,  Miss  Olivia  E.  Phelps  Stokes  gave  to  the  Trustees  of  the 
Phelps-Stokes  Fund  two  improved  tenements  which  she  had  built  at  339  East  32d 
Street,  adjoining  the  site  of  the  old  Anson  G.  Phelps  place  on  the  East  River. 

During  the  survey  of  Negro  schools  the  Housing  Committee,  through  Mr.  A. 
H.  Albertson,  made  a  study  of  buildings  and  grounds  in  forty  typical  institutions 
in  the  Southern  States,  with  the  hope  of  being  able  by  suggestion  or  advice  to 
improve  building  conditions  in  these  schools.  The  work  of  Mr.  Albertson  and  its 
results  are  discussed  in  another  chapter  of  this  report. 


20  EDUCATIONAL  ADAPTATIONS 

On  July  1,  1919,  the  Fund  established  educational  and  research  headquarters 
in  the  MacLachlen  Building,  Washington,  D.  C.  The  executive  force  is  now 
occupied  principally  in  the  encouragement  of  constructive  movements  required 
by  after-war  conditions.  There  is  constant  and  frequent  demand  for  advice  as 
to  the  acute  problems  of  race  relations.  Plans  for  the  future  contemplate  a  study 
of  educational  missions  in  Equatorial  and  West  Africa  and  a  survey  of  schools 
for  the  Indians.  The  Fund  is  particularly  interested  in  the  adaptations  required 
in  various  fields  of  education,  especially  those  that  relate  to  groups  that  are  in 
any  way  handicapped. 

POLICIES  OF  THE  FUND 

The  policies  of  the  Phelps-Stokes  Fund  are  largely  determined  by  the  ideals 
of  Miss  Caroline  Phelps  Stokes,  the  founder.  These  ideals  are  strikingly  applicable 
not  only  to  the  Fund's  activities,  but  also  to  the  perplexing  problems  of  the  present 
times.  The  Fund  is  fortunate  in  having  had  as  its  founder  a  woman  whose  person- 
ality combined  the  spiritual  and  the  practical  enriched  by  world-wide  travel.  The 
limited  success  and  frequent  failures  of  those  who  have  depended  on  any  one  of 
these  elements  require  no  illustration.  Religious  interest  has  in  too  many  instances 
been  merely  a  general  sentiment  blind  to  the  essential  forces  underlying  either  the 
good  or  the  bad.  Social  reform  has  been  often  artificial  and  superficial,  depending 
upon  organization,  and  indifferent  to  the  value  of  individuality  in  group  improve- 
ment. World  travel  is  to  many  people  but  an  opportunity  to  satisfy  curiosity  or 
to  find  new  peoples  or  places  to  exploit.  The  remarkable  combination  of  these 
elements  in  Miss  Stokes'  ideals  appears  both  in  the  terms  of  her  bequest  and  in  her 
activities  from  girlhood  throughout  her  life.  These  elements  have  been  clearly 
presented  by  her  sister,  Miss  Olivia  Egleston  Phelps  Stokes,  in  the  biographical 
sketch.1 

Religion  was  both  the  impelling  and  the  controlling  power  in  all  her  activities. 
She  was  impelled  to  action  because  she  was  inspired  by  the  spirit  of  service  as  re- 
vealed by  Jesus  Christ  and  by  those  who  have  followed  in  His  footsteps  through  the 
centuries.  She  was  impelled  also  by  the  belief  that  a  human  soul  is  eternal.  All 
people  are  the  children  of  God  and  not  one  must  be  lost  if  love  can  give  them 
salvation.  Color,  condition  or  nationality  were  no  bar  to  her  efforts  to  help. 
The  spirit  of  the  New  Testament  controlled  both  her  attitude  and  her  work.  To 
her  "The  fruit  of  the  spirit  is  love,  joy,  peace,  long  suffering,  gentleness,  goodness, 
faith."  She  sought  to  do  her  work  through  education,  cooperation  and  the  de- 
velopment of  sympathy  in  human  relationship. 

The  social  expression  of  this  religious  life  was  definite,  practical  and  effective. 
From  childhood  to  the  end  of  her  life  she  was  conscious  of  human  needs.     In  a 

'See  page  11 


INTRODUCTION  21 

composition  on  "The  Poor,"  which  she  wrote  when  a  little  girl  of  eleven  years  of 
age,  she  said: 

The  poor  people  suffer  much  whether  in  winter  or  in  summer.  In  summer  they  are 
almost  melted  with  heat,  there  are  so  many  families  crowded  into  one  house.  In  winter  it 
is  very  difficult  to  keep  from  freezing.  I  think  the  tenement  houses  are  dreadful  places, 
almost  as  bad  as  prisons. 

The  first  policy  evolved  from  this  remarkable  combination  of  religion,  practical 
interest  and  world  contact  is  that  of  the  adaptation  of  all  efforts  to  the  needs  at 
hand.  Tradition,  custom  or  class  are  not  to  hamper  educational  method  or  religious 
effort.  The  great  danger  of  all  institutions,  whether  political,  religious,  educational 
or  social,  is  to  crystallize  into  a  set  form  that  has  no  regard  for  changing  conditions. 
The  New  Testament  is  a  protest  against  the  crystallization  of  Old  Testament 
methods  and  ideals.  Every  institution  and  every  age  has  its  own  form  of  slavish 
conventions.  When  Christ  placed  "the  child  in  the  midst"  of  his  disciples  he 
sought  to  center  their  attention  on  the  quality  of  open-mindedness  that  is  essential 
to  all  truth.  In  this  lesson,  he  was  the  teacher  of  the  great  scientists  whose  success 
has  depended  upon  their  determination  to  recognize  the  significance  of  facts  re- 
gardless of  their  origin.  The  cornerstone  of  modern  science  is  the  universal  search 
for  truth.  The  slavery  of  knowledge  in  former  centuries  was  in  the  limitations  of 
research  to  a  few  recognized  regions  and  phases  of  the  universe.  Schools,  churches 
and  other  institutions  are  still  hampered  by  an  over-emphasis  upon  machinery, 
conventions  and  doctrines.  Too  frequently  they  fail  to  observe  the  changed  con- 
ditions which  time  and  geographical  position  have  developed.  These  observations 
and  conditions  explain  the  emphasis  of  the  Phelps-Stokes  Fund  upon  careful  sur- 
veys of  conditions  and  thorough  adaptation  of  efforts  to  the  needs  observed. 

The  second  policy  of  the  fund  is  the  logical  sequence  of  the  first,  namely,  that 
it  endeavors  to  originate,  stimulate  and  encourage  movements  and  activities  that 
are  strategic  in  their  influence  for  social  betterment,  rather  than  to  maintain  these 
movements  permanently.  The  explanation  for  this  policy  is  not  only  the  limited 
income  of  the  Fund,  but  the  conviction  that  the  continued  wisdom  and  soundness 
of  social  forces  require  their  financial  support  and  control  by  the  groups  most 
concerned. 

The  third  policy  is  the  recognition  of  cooperation  between  racial  and  national 
groups  as  a  fundamental  element  in  human  progress.  Study  of  social  conditions 
usually  reveals  the  fact  that  strife  is  a  result  of  misunderstanding.  A  narrow 
view  of  life  inevitably  leads  to  selfishness.  Wherever  possible  the  Fund  endeavors 
to  ascertain  the  elements  that  cause  misunderstanding  and  strife.  It  encourages 
all  movements  that  make  for  the  development  of  mutual  sympathy  and  cooperation 
for  the  general  good. 

The  fourth  policy  is  the  use  of  the  Fund  without  distinction  of  class,  race  or 
nationality.  The  bequest  directs  that  the  income  shall  be  used  "in  the  education 
of  Negroes  both  in  Africa  and  the  United  States,  North  American  Indians,  and 


22  EDUCATIONAL  ADAPTATIONS 

needy  and  deserving  white  students."  In  accordance  with  this  direction,  the 
appropriation  and  the  activities  of  the  Fund  have  been  devoted  to  these  groups. 
Owing  to  the  acuteness  of  race  relations  in  the  United  States,  the  larger  proportion 
of  the  income  to  date  has  been  expended  on  movements  pertaining  to  the  Negroes 
and  Whites  in  America.  It  is  the  policy  of  the  Fund,  however,  to  include  all 
groups  within  the  scope  of  its  efforts. 

The  purposes  and  policies  outlined  in  this  chapter  are  illustrated  in  the  suc- 
ceeding chapters  of  this  report.  In  purpose,  policies  and  activities,  the  Trustees 
and  executive  officers  have  made  every  endeavor  to  be  true  to  the  ideals  so  beauti- 
fully realized  in  the  life  so  constantly  guided  by  the  prophet's  appeal:  "What  doth 
the  Lord  require  of  thee  but  to  do  justly  and  to  love  mercy  and  to  walk  humbly 
with  thy  God." 


I 

NEGRO  EDUCATION  IN  THE  UNITED  STATES 

The  primary  value  of  a  survey  of  Negro  education  in  the  United  States  lies 
in  the  fact  that  the  educational  activities  described  constitute  what  is  probably 
the  most  significant  effort  ever  made  by  a  white  group  powerful  in  number,  wealth, 
education  and  experience  to  develop  an  educational  system  for  and  by  a  black 
group  differing  widely  in  origin  and  type  and  only  recently  freed  from  slavery. 
World  history  shows  that  the  proximity  of  such  varied  groups  in  the  past  has 
usually  resulted  either  in  the  destruction  or  the  enslavement  of  the  weaker  or 
smaller  group. 

The  survey  of  Negro  education  is  an  answer  to  the  world  challenge,  "How  is 
American  democracy  to  meet  this  test  of  its  wisdom  and  idealism?  Will  the  people 
of  the  United  States  work  out  an  educational  policy  that  will  inspire  the  world  to 
a  more  real  sense  of  interresponsibility?"  While  the  complete  answer  to  these  vital 
questions  requires  the  consideration  of  many  phases  of  human  relations,  it  is 
probable  that  the  most  definite  answer  is  in  the  study  of  present  policies  in  the 
education  of  the  Negroes. 

The  survey,  begun  in  1913  with  no  dream  of  the  complications  and  responsi- 
bilities that  have  been  developed  by  the  World  War,  now  has  increased  significance 
and  value  as  a  source  book  both  of  what  to  do  and  what  to  avoid  in  race  relations 
and  in  the  education  of  peoples  handicapped  by  causes  within  or  without  the 
group.  The  Round  Table,  a  quarterly  review  of  the  British  Empire,  in  the  issue 
of  December,  1918,  asks  the  vital  question:  "Is  it  too  much  to  ask  that  in  this 
crisis  of  human  destiny  America  shall  forget  to  think  of  herself,  and  think  rather 
of  those  infinitely  wider  interests,  to  vindicate  which  she  has  sent  two  million 
Americans  to  Europe,  and  in  doing  so  has  saved  freedom  for  mankind?" 

The  answer  to  this  dramatic  question  is  in  the  League  of  Nations  and  the 
arrangement  for  mandatories  which  the  United  States  is  morally  bound  to  take  as 
America's  share  in  human  betterment  and  in  world  peace. 

When  this  responsibility  is  placed  definitely  upon  us,  the  most  important 
contribution  we  can  make  both  to  the  League  of  Nations  and  to  the  mandatories 
especially  committed  to  us  is  to  see  that  the  educational  systems  of  the  countries 
concerned  are  adapted  to  the  needs  of  the  people.  Hitherto  peace  conferences 
and  international  negotiations  have  been  concerned  with  government  machinery 
for  tax-collecting,  policing  and  boundaries,  to  the  exclusion  of  educational  provi- 
sions that  prepare  the  people  to  use  the  opportunities  provided  for  them.  The 
following  statement  from  one  of  the  leading  authorities  of  the  British  Empire  sup- 
ports the  new  ideal  in  convincing  words: 

No  permanent  settlement  of  the  African  problem  or  of  the  very  different  problem  of  the 
Middle  East — no  settlement,  indeed,  of  the  conflict  of  national  ideas  and  social  conceptions 

23 


24  EDUCATIONAL  ADAPTATIONS 

between  civilized  peoples — can  be  hoped  for  unless  the  civilized  governments  of  the  world, 
who  are  responsible  for  the  education  of  their  citizens,  establish  common  machinery  for 
adjusting  in  some  measure  their  educational  systems,  for  considering  even  such  matters  as 
school  curricula  and  text-books,  and,  above  all,  for  coordinating  the  effect  of  these  systems 
upon  more  backward  peoples. 

The  world  is  more  indebted  to  missionaries  and  missionary  boards  than  his- 
torians have  been  able  to  appreciate.  Missionaries  both  at  home  and  abroad  have 
been  working  out  methods  which  governments  must  now  adopt,  adapt  and  develop 
in  dealing  with  all  grades  of  mandatory  arrangements.  This  is  not  to  maintain 
that  missionaries  have  not  made  serious  mistakes  and  often  been  narrow  in  their 
conception  of  their  work.  It  is  only  to  give  them  credit  for  the  fact  that  they  have 
been  interested  in  the  development  of  the  people  rather  than  in  the  machinery  of 
government  and  the  resources  to  be  exploited.  They  have  been  pioneers  and,  as 
pioneers,  have  achieved  the  successes  and  made  the  errors  always  involved  in  new 
ventures.  With  characteristic  vision  of  world  affairs  it  is  a  missionary  writer  who 
has  shown  the  deepest  appreciation  of  the  significance  of  the  American  effort  to 
educate  the  Negroes.  In  the  April,  1918,  issue  of  The  International  Review  of 
Missions,  Mr.  J.  H.  Oldham,  the  editor,  discusses  both  the  Phelps-Stokes  report  on 
"Xegro  Education  in  the  United  States"  and  Mr.  Charles  T.  Loram's  volume  on 
"The  Education  of  the  Negro." 

A  great  service  has  been  rendered  to  missionary  educators  throughout  the  world  by  the  publi- 
cation of  these  volumes.  Apart  from  the  practical  guidance  which  they  furnish  in  abundance, 
they  exhibit  in  the  attempt  to  solve  one  of  the  ultimate  and  most  baffling  problems  of  human 
society  a  faith,  courage  and  real,  though  as  yet  partial,  achievement  that  must  encourage  and 
inspire  other  workers  in  the  cause  of  human  progress. 

The  two  quarto  volumes,  entitled  "Negro  Education,"  containing  one  423  and  the  other  724 
pages,  represent  the  results  of  an  exhaustive  survey  of  the  private  and  higher  schools  for  colored 
people  in  the  United  States  undertaken  by  the  American  Bureau  of  Education  with  the  co-opera- 
tion of  the  Phelps-Stokes  Fund.  Every  institution  of  importance  was  personally  visited,  while  the 
larger  schools  were  studied  by  three  or  four  persons,  the  visits  being  made  at  different  periods  of 
the  year,  and  studies  of  typical  institutions  were  made  by  specialists.  Each  school  visited  is 
reported  on  separately,  detailed  information  being  given  regarding  the  character  of  the  education, 
the  methods  of  administration,  the  attendance,  the  staff,  the  finances  and  the  buildings  and  equip- 
ment, while  attached  to  each  report  are  recommendations  made  by  the  commissioners.  These 
individual  reports,  dealing  separately  with  no  less  than  747  schools,  occupy  the  second  volume 
of  "Xegro  Education."  They  are  a  model  of  exact  and  clear  statement,  and  the  reports  of  the 
best  schools  present  in  brief  compass  the  results  of  hardly-won  and  tested  experience,  for  which 
educators  in  other  fields  will  be  deeply  grateful.  The  first  volume  deals  in  a  general  way  with  the 
problems  of  negro  education.  It  begins  with  a  survey  of  the  situation  and  of  the  educational 
facilities  provided  by  the  State.  Subsequent  chapters  discuss,  in  the  light  of  the  best  and  most 
progressive  educational  thought  and  experience  of  America,  secondary  education  (at  present 
mainly  under  private  management),  college  and  professional  education,  the  preparation  of  teachers, 
industrial  education,  rural  education,  ownership  and  control,  finance  and  buildings.  The  chapter 
on  the  last  named  subject  was  prepared  by  a  member  of  one  of  the  leading  architectural  firms  in 
New  York.  A  valuable  feature  of  both  volumes  is  the  admirable  and  instructive  photographs 
with  which  they  are  illustrated. 


NEGRO  EDUCATION  25 

Dr.  Loram  had  smaller  resources  at  his  disposal  in  his  study  of  native  education  in  South 
Africa.  But  the  general  character,  spirit  and  methods  of  his  work  resemble  those  of  the  American 
inquiry.  A  native-born  South  African,  he  took  his  degree  at  Cambridge  University,  and  held  a 
fellowship  at  Teachers'  College  in  New  York.  While  in  the  United  States  he  had  an  opportunity 
of  studying  the  Negro  problem,  and  he  is  now  an  inspector  of  schools  in  Natal.  He  was  thus  well 
equipped  for  his  task,  and  has  not  only  availed  himself  of  all  existing  sources  of  information  but 
carried  out  on  his  own  account  a  number  of  statistical  and  experimental  investigations  which  shed 
fresh  light  on  the  questions  with  which  he  deals. 

Both  publications  may  be  accepted  without  queston  as  the  most  authoritative  works  on  their 
subjects.  The  purpose  of  the  present  review  is  to  call  attention  to  their  importance  in  relation 
to  missionary  policy. 

It  is  clear  from  these  volumes  that  both  in  America  and  in  South  Africa  the  main  impulse  in 
the  education  of  the  negro  has  come  from  Christian  missions.  In  South  Africa  "to  this  day  all 
but  three  of  the  several  thousand  native  schools  are  conducted  by  missionary  agencies."  In  the 
Southern  States  of  America  the  total  annual  income  of  the  schools  maintained  by  northern  phil- 
anthropy is  upwards  of  two  and  a  half  million  dollars,  and  by  far  the  greater  part  of  the  educational 
opportunities  above  the  elementary  grade  is  provided  by  these  institutions.  This  proportion  is 
bound  to  change.  The  education  of  the  negro  is  being  increasingly  recognized  as  a  public  duty.  A 
statement  issued  by  the  Southern  University  Race  Commission  clearly  recognizes  that  "the  South 
cannot  realize  its  destiny  if  one-third  of  its  population  is  undeveloped  and  inefficient."  Similarly 
Dr.  Loram  contends  in  a  weighty  chapter  that  not  only  the  dictates  of  humanity  and  of  Christi- 
anity but  the  moral,  social  and  economic  interests  of  the  white  race  require  the  education  of  the 
native  population  of  South  Africa.  The  educational  task  will  in  the  future  require  the  effective 
co-operation  of  three  factors — the  State,  missionary  and  philanthropic  effort,  and  the  contribution 
of  the  Negro  race.  But  we  must  not  lose  sight  of  the  important  historical  fact  that  the  foundations 
of  Negro  education  both  in  America  and  in  the  continent  of  Africa  were  laid  by  Christian  mission- 
aries.    It  is  a  fresh  and  signal  proof  of  the  influence  of  Chirst  in  the  life  of  the  world  to-day. 

But  while  Christian  missions  have  been  the  pioneers  in  the  education  of  the  Negro  race,  it  is 
clear  that  if  their  work  in  the  future  is  to  be  worthy  of  the  past,  they  must  rise  to  a  new  and  higher 
conception  of  their  task.  Hampton  and  Tuskegee,  which  are  essentially  a  creation  of  the  Christian 
spirit  though  they  are  not  connected  with  any  Christian  denomination,  are  surpassed  by  no  insti- 
tutions in  the  world  in  their  educational  achievements;  and  in  South  Africa  first-rate  work  is 
being  accomplished  at  Lovedale,  Tiger-Kloof  and  other  missionary  institutions.  But  this  cannot 
be  claimed  for  missionary  schools  as  a  whole.  Both  the  American  report  and  Dr.  Loram,  while 
paying  the  highest  tributes  to  the  work  of  missionary  schools,  are  quite  frank  in  recognizing  their 
shortcomings.  In  the  former  it  is  stated  that  the  limitations  of  the  schools  maintained  by  the 
American  Churches  are  "the  conservatism  of  their  educational  and  financial  policies."  and  that 
"they  have  not  sufficiently  recognized  the  importance  of  adapting  their  educational  efforts  to  the 
needs  of  the  pupil  and  of  the  community."  Attention  is  also  called  to  the  multiplication  of 
hundreds  of  small  schools,  the  average  of  whose  work  is  so  low  as  to  reflect  seriously  on  the  wisdom 
of  continuing  them  without  a  marked  increase  in  the  amount  of  supervision.  Dr.  Loram  asserts 
that  some  missions  have  employed  untrained  and  unsuitable  agents,  that  missionaries  haves  hown 
themselves  too  ready  to  break  down  native  customs,  good  and  bad  alike,  and  that  they  must  share 
with  the  government  the  blame  for  transplanting  from  Europe  ready-made  systems  and  methods 
of  education  without  adapting  them  to  a  people  differing  widely  in  original  nature,  in  environment 
and  in  future  opportunities. 

It  is  inevitable,  as  has  already  been  pointed  out,  that  missionary  efforts  to  educate  the  Negro 
race  should  be  supplemented  and  out-distanced  by  the  larger  resources  of  the  State.  Quanti- 
tatively Christian  schools  mufct  become  a  decreasing  factor  in  Negro  education.  If  they  cease  to 
be  the  sole  or  even  the  main  agency  of  education,  how  may  they  continue  to  be  a  vital  factor  in  the 


26  EDUCATIONAL  ADAPTATIONS 

regeneration  of  the  race?  What  is  to  be  their  special  task  and  contribution  in  the  changed  con. 
ditions?  Surely  it  must  be  to  set  a  standard  and  ideal  for  all  education.  Christ  is  the  highest 
the  world  has  known,  and  if  Christian  schools  are  to  be  worthy  of  their  name  they  must  be  con- 
spicuous in  their  power  to  form  strong,  unselfish  and  noble  character.  To  do  this,  they  must  be 
alive  to  all  that  is  best  and  most  progressive  in  educational  thought  and  practice.  That  this  is 
the  true  function  of  missionary  schools  is  suggested  in  the  American  report.  "The  proper 
function  of  religious  boards  and  philanthropic  organizations,"  it  is  stated,  "is  to  establish  leavening 
centers"  (vol.  i,  p.  144).  This  pregnant  sentence  indicates  a  definite  missionary  policy  which, 
if  it  is  accepted,  must  have  far-reaching  consequences,  both  in  the  preparation  of  missionaries  and 
in  the  conduct  of  educational  work. 

What  then  are  the  educational  principles  to  which  special  prominence  is  given  in  the  volumes 
before  us?  It  is  insisted  that  education  must  be  closely  related  to  the  actual  life  of  those  who  have 
to  be  taught.  It  must  take  account  of  their  instincts,  experiences  and  interests  as  distinct  from 
those  of  people  living  in  quite  different  conditions.  Its  aim  must  be  to  equip  them  for  the  life 
which  they  have  to  live.  Hence  the  main  emphasis  must  be  not  on  a  purely  literary  curriculum, 
such  as  still  prevails  in  many  schools,  but  on  training  in  such  necessities  of  actual  life  as  health, 
hygiene,  the  making  and  keeping  of  a  home,  the  earning  of  a  livelihood  and  civic  knowledge  and 
spirit.  Dr.  Loram  finds  the  chief  explanation  of  the  alleged  arrest  of  mental  development  of  the 
African  on  reaching  puberty  in  the  fact  that  the  courses  of  study  and  methods  of  teaching  hitherto 
in  use  have  failed  to  give  the  pupils  the  satisfaction  needed  to  evoke  their  continued  efforts. 
Further,  education  must  take  account  of  the  life  not  only  of  the  individual  but  of  the  community. 
The  school  must  always  be  viewed  in  relation  to  the  larger  life  which  it  exists  to  serve.  This 
principle  is  recognized  in  the  relation  of  the  reports  on  individual  schools  in  the  second  volume  of 
Negro  Education  to  their  background  in  county  or  city,  and  in  the  special  paragraph  devoted 
in  each  report  to  the  extension  work  for  the  improvement  of  the  educational,  agricultural,  business 
home  and  religious  life  of  the  colored  people,  which  is  so  marked  a  feature  of  Hampton  and 
Tuskegee. 

This  general  view  of  the  aims  of  education  explains  the  place  given  in  these  volumes  to  indus- 
trial and  agricultural  training.  The  mind  of  General  Armstrong  when  he  began  his  work  for  the 
freed  slaves  at  Hampton  seized  with  remarkable  prophetic  insight  on  certain  vital  principles  which 
have  now  won  almost  universal  recognition.  He  saw  that  the  training  of  the  mind  through 
observation  and  manual  labor  is  an  invaluable  means  of  developing  character.  "Didactic  and  dog- 
matic work,"  he  said,  "has  little  to  do  with  the  formation  of  character.  That  is  done  by 
making  the  school  a  little  world  in  itself.  School  life  should  be  like  real  life.  ...  In  all  men, 
education  is  conditioned  not  alone  on  an  enlightened  head  and  a  changed  heart,  but  very  largely 
on  a  routine  of  industrious  habits,  which  is  to  character  what  the  foundation  is  to  the  pyramid." 
The  primary  purpose  of  industrial  education  is  thus  the  formation  of  character  through  habit- 
forming  activities  in  the  classroom,  the  field,  the  shop  and  the  home.  But  second  only  to  this  is 
the  importance  of  industrial  and  agricultural  training  for  the  future  of  the'Negro  race.  The 
economic  status  of  the  Negro  community  in  the  southern  states  is  poor,  and  the  only  hope  of 
progress  lies  in  training  the  people  to  develop  the  natural  resources  of  the  country  and  to  engage  in 
industrial  pursuits.  The  same  thing  is  true  of  the  natives  of  South  Africa.  It  is  of  course  one 
thing  to  recognize  the  importance  of  industrial  and  agricultural  training  and  quite  another  to 
provide  it  or  even  to  get  those  whom  it  is  intended  to  benefit  to  appreciate  its  value.  It  is  the 
merit  of  the  volumes  before  us  that  they  furnish  for  the  solution  of  these  difficulties  such  help  as 
may  be  gained  from  long  and  wide  practical  experience. 

Another  subject  of  special  interest  to  missionary  educators  is  rural  education.  In  India  at 
the  present  time  this  is  perhaps  the  greatest  and  most  urgent  question  with  which  Christian  mis- 
sions have  to  deal.  At  the  heart  of  the  problem  lies  the  training  of  teachers,  and  the  provision  of 
some  means  of  keeping  in  touch  with  them  and  saving  them  from  the  dangers  of  isolation,  dis- 


NEGRO  EDUCATION  27 

couragement  and  mental  and  moral  stagnation.  One  of  the  most  promising  developments  in 
recent  years  in  the  southern  states  of  America  has  been  the  appointment  of  Negro  supervisors  to 
visit  the  rural  schools,  introduce  suitable  forms  of  industrial  work,  advise  and  encourage  the  teacher 
form  parents'  clubs  and  interest  the  Negro  community  in  the  schools.  There  is  the  most  encour- 
aging testimony  to  the  devotion  of  these  workers  and  the  change  brought  about  by  their  efforts. 
There  is  much  more  of  absorbing  interest  in  these  volumes  on  which  it  is  not  possible  to 
touch.  They  should  be  available  in  the  library  of  every  mission.  They  also  deserve  the 
attention  of  missionary  administrators  and  missionary  committees  at  home,  who  desire  that 
Christian  education  in  the  mission  field  should  maintain  the  position  it  has  held  in  the  past 
and  bear  yet  larger  fruit  in  the  years  to  come. 

Mandatory  commissions  and  colonial  bureaus  will  more  and  more  find  the 
educational  activities  of  private  funds  and  missionary  boards  a  rich  field  of  sug- 
gestions, types  and  methods  for  the  realization  of  their  responsibilities.  While 
the  survey  of  Negro  Education  in  the  United  States  shows  that  no  form  of  educa- 
tion for  Negroes  is  satisfactorily  equipped  or  supported,  it  also  describes  certain 
types  of  educational  effort  and  certain  institutions  that  have  achieved  remarkable 
results  in  fitting  the  Negroes  to  deal  with  the  problems  confronting  them.  These 
types  and  movements  are  so  important  as  to  require  at  least  an  outline  description 
in  a  separate  chapter  on  "Educational  Adaptations."  The  private  agencies  in 
the  United  States  that  have  made  the  most  notable  contributions  in  the  develop- 
ment of  educational  types  are  the  General  Education  Board,  the  Slater  Fund, 
the  Jeanes  Fund,  and  the  Rosenwald  rural  school  building  appropriations.  These 
agencies  have  been  managed  with  an  educational  statesmanship  that  is  worthy  of 
study  by  all  persons  concerned  in  education. 

"Who's  Who"  in  Negro  Education 

While  the  primary  value  of  the  Survey  of  Negro  Education  is  that  of  a  source 
book  on  education  and  race  relations,  the  purpose  was  to  form  a  "Who's  Who" 
among  Negro  schools.  The  study  was  undertaken  in  response  to  numerous 
demands  for  knowledge  of  these  schools.  Thoughtful  people  of  the  South  and  of 
the  North,  white  and  colored,  had  long  been  puzzled  as  to  the  merits  and  demerits 
of  the  many  appeals  for  money  and  sympathy  in  behalf  of  all  sorts  and  conditions 
of  educational  institutions  for  Negroes.  Letters  from  southern  state  superinten- 
dents of  education  and  urgent  requests  for  knowledge  from  chambers  of  commerce  in 
northern  cities  emphasized  the  need  of  a  complete  survey  of  the  whole  field.  It 
was  found  that  over  $3,000,000  was  expended  annually  for  colored  schools  by 
denominational  and  private  educational  boards  and  by  individuals  whose  knowledge 
of  educational  conditions  was  necessarily  limited.  The  accumulation  of  gifts 
represented  a  total  valuation  of  $'■28,-190,946  in  plant  and  endowment. 

The  schools  receiving  aid,  it  was  shown,  range  all  the  way  from  institutions  of 
the  highest  efficiency  to  those  whose  work  is  of  no  value  or  whose  so-called  presidents 
or  founders  deliberately  play  upon  philanthropy  for  their  own  personal  gain. 
Among  the  good  schools  are  some  that  have  achieved  international  fame  for  pioneer 
service  in  democratizing  education.     Others — and  these  comprise  a  majority  of 


28  EDUCATIONAL  ADAPTATIONS 

the  institutions — are  following  the  traditional  school  curriculum  with  too  exclusive 
emphasis  upon  bookish  studies.  There  are  a  number  of  schools  whose  educational 
results  do  not  merit  the  cost,  failure  being  due  usually  to  poor  management, 
inadequate  support,  or  unfortunate  location. 

While  actual  frauds  among  Negro  schools  are  few  in  number,  they  are  very 
active  in  their  appeals  to  the  public.  About  1907  a  Negro  left  Brunswick,  Ga.,  to 
raise  money  to  found  a  "Naval  and  Industrial  School  for  Colored  Youth."  For 
seven  years  he  collected  money  throughout  the  northern  states,  obtaining  letters 
of  introduction  from  prominent  men,  until  he  was  convicted  in  1915  of  "larceny 
by  false  pretenses."  A  still  more  flagrant  case  is  that  of  the  "founder  and  presi- 
dent" of  the  so-called  Latta  University,  in  Raleigh,  N.  C.  At  one  time  Latta 
be^an  the  construction  of  a  crude  frame  school  building,  which  was  never  com- 
pleted, and  it  appears  that  he  employed  one  teacher  and  had  a  few  pupils.  In 
1903,  long  after  all  school  work  had  been  abandoned,  Latta  published  a  400-page 
book  in  which  he  declared  of  his  school:  "It  is  one  of  the  largest  schools  of  the 
South  in  every  respect,  having  facilities  to  accommodate  more  than  400  students. 
We  have  23  buildings  on  the  campus."  Another  ingenious  "principal  and  founder  " 
who  had  been  soliciting  money  for  an  alleged  school  and  had  received  large  sums 
from  a  philanthropic  northern  woman  by  claiming  he  had  the  endorsement  of 
two  prominent  southern  women,  when  forced  to  make  good  his  claim  as  to  these 
women,  concocted  the  story  that  they  had  gone  down  with  the  Titanic.  The 
shrewd  character  of  these  solicitors  is  shown  in  the  selection  of  names  for  their 
so-called  institutions.  Most  of  them  realize  the  interest  of  white  donors  in  rural 
and  industrial  education  and  accordingly  make  large  use  of  these  terms.  Some 
of  them,  knowing  the  strength  of  the  religious  appeal,  seize  upon  titles  containing 
such  words  as  "Bible  school"  and  "religious  training."  Others  depend  on  the 
well-known  powers  of  such  titles  as  "temperance,"  "orphanage,"  or  "rescue  home." 
Usually  a  combination  of  these  terms  is  used,  in  order  to  secure  as  wide  a  circle 
of  appeal  as  possible.  To  create  an  impression  among  the  colored  people,  liberal 
use  is  made  of  such  high-sounding  terms  as  "college"  and  "university." 

Constructive  Purpose 

Throughout  the  investigation  the  purpose  was  constructive.  Effort  was  made 
to  determine  the  real  educational  needs  of  the  people  and  the  extent  to  which  the 
school  work  had  been  adapted  to  these  needs.  This  required  a  study  of  the  edu- 
cational objectives  of  the  school  as  indicated  by  the  course  of  study,  the  training 
of  the  teachers,  the  vocational  choice  of  the  pupils,  the  condition  of  the  school 
plant,  the  attitude  of  the  white  and  colored  people  of  the  community  toward  the 
school  and  the  work  of  the  former  students.  Serious  attention  was  given  to 
administrative  methods,  including  such  elements  as  bookkeeping  and  records, 
supervision  of  teachers  and  pupils,  cleanliness  and  care  of  buildings  and  grounds, 
and  economy  in  building  operations.  The  financial  resources  and  the  effectiveness 
of  the  trustee  boards  were  carefully  considered.     The  possibilities  of  cooperation 


NEGRO  EDUCATION 


29 


between  individual  schools  and  groups  of  schools  were  constantly  in  mind.  In 
determining  the  status  of  individual  schools  in  all  the  phases  enumerated,  the  study 
was  not  indifferent  either  to  the  serious  financial  limitations  of  the  schools  or  to 
the  wide  divergencies  in  the  ideals  of  those  interested  in  the  education  of  colored 
people. 

The  first  step  in  the  investigation  was  the  filling  of  record  cards  for  pupils  and 
teachers  and  a  general  questionnaire  for  the  school.  The  students'  cards  were 
filled  by  the  pupils  above  the  sixth  grade.  The  pupils  were  assembled  so  that  they 
could  write  the  answers  under  the  personal  direction  of  the  agent  and  thus  insure 
uniformity  in  the  reports.  The  more  important  facts  called  for  were  the  attend- 
ance by  sex  and  age,  the  program  of  study  and  work,  and  the  geographical  distri- 
bution of  the  pupils.  The  accuracy  and  simplicity  of  this  card  system  made  it 
of  great  value  in  determining  the  status  of  the  school.  The  important  facts 
reported  by  the  teachers  on  the  cards  included  education,  experience,  and  program 
of  work.  Comparison  of  the  pupils'  and  teachers'  cards  frequently  furnished 
interesting  views  of  the  policies  and  management  of  the  institution. 

Financial  Support  of  Negro  Education 

The  striking  facts  ascertained  in  the  study  of  the  financial  support  of  Negro 
education  were,  first,  the  wide  divergencies  in  the  per  capita  of  public  school 
expenditures  for  white  and  colored  children,  and,  second,  the  extent  to  which  schools 
for  Negroes  were  dependent  upon  private  aid.  Though  private  aid  has  been  liber- 
ally given  and  a  number  of  the  private  institutions  do  very  effective  work,  Negro 
schools  in  the  aggregate  undoubtedly  form  the  most  impoverished  group  of  educa- 
tional institutions  in  the  United  States.  The  per  capita  in  the  southern  states 
was  found  to  be  $10.32  for  each  white  child  and  $2.89  for  each  colored  child.  The 
per  capita  figures  for  the  different  states  vary  widely.  In  the  border  states,  where 
the  proportion  of  Negroes  is  relatively  small,  the  per  capita  for  Negroes  is  higher 
than  in  the  other  states.  The  most  striking  differences,  however,  are  in  the 
county  expenditures.  State  school  funds  are  apportioned  to  each  county  on  the 
basis  of  population  without  regard  to  race.  The  county  officers  then  divide  these 
funds  according  to  their  interpretation  of  the  needs  of  the  white  and  black  pupils. 
The  result  of  this  appears  in  the  following  table  for  the  southern  counties  arranged 
according  to  the  proportion  of  Negroes  in  each  county: 


County  groups,  percentage  of 
Negroes  in  the  population 

White 
teachers' 
salaries 

Negro 
teachers' 
salaries 

Per  capita,   j   Per  capita, 
White                Negro 

Counties  under  10  per  cent 

$7,755,817 
9,633,674 

12,672,666 
4,574,666 

888,759 

$325  579          *i  °fi 

$7.23 
5.55 
3.19 
1.77 

1.7S 

Counties  10  to  25  per  cent 

1.196.7S3 

2,205,945 

1,167,798 

359,  S00 

9.55 
11.11 
1 2 .  53 
22   22 

Counties  25  to  50  per  cent 

Counties  50  to  75  cent 

Counties  75  per  cent  and  over 

30  EDUCATIONAL  ADAPTATIONS 

It  will  be  noted  that  the  per  capita  in  the  counties  75  per  cent  Negro  was 
$22.22  for  each  white  child  and  $1.78  for  each  colored  child.  The  per  capita  sums 
for  white  children  decrease  and  those  for  colored  children  increase  with  considerable 
regularity  as  the  proportion  of  Negroes  becomes  smaller.  The  marked  inequalities 
in  the  counties  75  per  cent  Negro  are  partly  explained  by  the  necessity  of  providing 
relatively  more  schools  for  the  scattered  white  population.  The  lower  wage  scale 
of  colored  teachers  and  the  lack  of  high-school  provisions  also  reduce  the  expendi- 
tures for  colored  schools.  It  is  evident,  however,  that  these  explanations  by  no 
means  account  for  the  wide  divergencies  of  the  "black-belt"  counties.  These 
divergencies  are  further  emphasized  by  the  fact  that  the  Southern  States  appro- 
priate annually  $6,429,991  for  higher  schools  for  white  pupils  and  only  a  little  over 
a  third  of  a  million  for  higher  schools  for  colored  people.  The  latter  include  the 
agricultural  and  mechanical  schools,  largely  maintained  by  Federal  funds,  and  six 
normal  schools  of  elementary  and  secondary  grade. 

A  proper  appreciation  of  the  significance  of  these  figures  requires  the  considera- 
tion of  at  least  two  facts.  The  first  is,  that,  although  the  wealth  of  the  South  is 
at  present  increasing  very  rapidly,  the  South  has  had  to  maintain  a  double  system 
of  schools  on  the  comparatively  limited  resources  of  a  section  largely  rural  and 
only  recently  recovered  from  the  burdens  of  the  Civil  War.  The  second  fact  is 
that,  though  the  per  capita  for  white  pupils  in  the  South  is  four  times  that  for 
Negroes,  the  per  capita  in  most  of  the  northern  states  is  twro  and  three  times  that 
for  the  white  pupils  in  the  South.  These  facts  do  not  justify  the  present  inequalities 
between  the  expenditures  for  white  and  colored  pupils.  They  should,  however, 
modify  criticism  of  the  situation.  When  all  explanations  have  been  made,  the 
inequalities  stand  as  an  emphatic  appeal  to  county,  state  and  federal  governments 
for  larger  and  more  definite  interest  in  Negro  education.  Among  the  indications 
of  the  development  of  such  an  interest  are  the  recent  improvements  in  taxation 
systems  of  some  of  the  states,  the  increasing  effectiveness  of  the  state  departments 
of  instruction,  and  the  general  realization  of  the  economic  and  hygienic  importance 
of  the  colored  people  to  the  South. 

The  annual  income  for  current  expenses  in  all  private  schools  for  colored  people 
i-  $3,026,460,  while  the  total  value  of  the  plant,  equipment,  and  endowment  in 
private  schools  for  colored  people,  as  already  noted,  is  $28,496,9-46.  These  in- 
stitutions provide  the  large  proportion  of  all  educational  opportunities  above  the 
elementary  grades.  They  offer  the  bulk  of  all  the  instruction  in  agriculture,  in- 
dustry, teacher  training,  medicine,  and  religion.  Fully  one-half  of  the  money  that 
has  gone  into  these  schools  from  private  sources  has  been  contributed  by  the  white 
religious  denominations  of  the  North,  a  third  has  been  given  by  independent  donors 
and  churches,  and  one-sixth  by  colored  denominations.  Southern  white  denomina- 
tions maintain  two  schools  for  Negroes. 

The  multiplication  of  private  schools  for  Negroes  and  the  wide  publicity  at- 
tending gifts  from  the  North  have  sometimes  created  the  impression   that  the 


NEGRO  EDUCATION  31 

private  funds  given  to  colored  schools  make  up  for  the  inequalities  in  the  public 
appropriation  for  the  white  and  colored  youth.  In  view  of  this  impression,  it  is 
important  to  note  that  a  study  of  private  contributions  shows  that  even  the  private 
financial  resources  available  for  white  schools  are  greater  than  those  for  colored 
schools. 

The  total  number  of  private  schools  for  colored  people  is  625.  Of  these,  266 
may  be  regarded  as  important  parts  of  the  educational  system  of  their  respective 
states.  The  remaining  359  are  regarded  as  comparatively  unimportant.  Some 
of  them  are  justified  only  on  denominational  grounds.  The  majority  are  so 
hampered  by  small  income  or  poor  management  that  the  states  receive  little 
good  from  them. 

In  view  of  the  frequency  of  the  terms  "academy,"  "college,"  and  "university," 
in  the  names  of  these  institutions,  it  is  important  to  note  that  over  75  per  cent  of 
all  their  pupils  are  elementary.  The  total  attendance  in  1914-15  was  83,679, 
of  whom  70,564  were  elementary,  11,527  secondary,  and  only  1,588  of  college  grade. 
Though  private  funds  have  been  given  with  liberality,  the  number  of  pupils  in 
private  schools  is  only  4  per  cent  of  the  number  of  Negro  children  6  to  14  years  of 
age  and  7  per  cent  of  all  children  attending  elementary  schools.  It  is  apparent, 
therefore,  that  the  masses  of  the  colored  people  cannot  be  educated  in  private 
schools,  but  must  be  educated  mainly  in  public  or  tax-supported  schools. 

Preparation  and  Distribution  of  the  Report 

The  Survey  was  a  cooperative  undertaking  between  the  Phelps-Stokes  Fund 
and  the  United  States  Bureau  of  Education.  The  salaries  and  travelling  expenses 
of  the  field  and  office  force,  amounting  approximately  to  $50,000,  were  paid  by  the 
Phelps-Stokes  Fund.  The  Bureau  of  Education  furnished  office  room  and  office 
equipment,  and  paid  all  printing  expenses.  The  Report  was  printed  in  two  quarto 
volumes  of  423  and  724  pages.  The  edition  included  12,500  of  each  volume,  and 
500  to  1000  reprints  of  separate  chapters.  The  edition  of  the  volumes  printed  is 
now  practically  exhausted.  Some  of  the  chapter  reprints  are  also  out  of  print. 
All  possible  care  was  exercised  so  that  the  volumes  would  be  distributed  to  those 
who  would  make  the  largest  use  of  them.  The  first  step  in  the  distribution  was" 
the  preparation  of  an  extended  list  of  persons  concerned  in  Negro  education. 
This  list  included  trustees  and  officers  of  the  colored  schools,  representative  clergy- 
men, prominent  educators,  officers  of  chambers  of  commerce  and  civic  associations, 
philanthropists,  students  of  social  conditions,  and  editorial  writers.  A  brief 
description  of  the  volumes  was  then  mailed  to  each  name  with  the  statement 
that  persons  desiring  the  volumes  must  apply  to  the  Bureau  of  Education. 

The  reception  of  the  report  by  the  public  was  most  satisfactory.  Adverse 
criticism  was  limited  to  schools  unfavorably  described  and  to  a  few  Negroes  who 
feared  that  the  report  did  not  give  sufficient  recognition  to  college  education. 
The  remarkable  review  by  Mr.  J.  H.  Oldham,  of  England,  has  been  reprinted  in 


EDUCATIONAL  ADAPTATIONS 

this  chapter.  A  few  quotations  from  many  letters  and  press  comments  are  given 
below  to  illustrate  the  friendly  appreciation  both  from  white  and  colored  students 
of  education  and  race  relations: 

Mr.  Jackson  Davis,  General  Field  Agent  of  the  General  Education  Board,  traveling 
widely  through  the  area  surveyed,  and  knoumfor  his  thorough  acquaintance  with  Xegro 
Education: 

"The  books  have  been  in  constant  use  since  their  arrival.  The  thorough  survey  that  you 
have  made  of  the  whole  field  of  Negro  education  including  the  work  of  public  and  private 
schools  of  all  denominations,  societies  and  boards  is  a  work  of  fundamental  importance.  It 
brings  forth  very  clearly  the  need  of  better  coordination  and  therefore  hastens  the  time  of 
more  wisely  directed  efforts  in  every  field." 

Dr.  Abraham  Flexner,  secretary  of  the  General  Education  Board,  of  international 
fame  for  his  study  of  medical  education: 

"...  an  epoch-making  contribution  to  the  subject  of  Negro  education  as  well  as  a  most 
important  contribution  to  the  general  subject  of  education  in  this  country.  The  book  will 
never  cease  to  figure  as  a  source  book  of  information.  I  congratulate  you  on  the  achieve- 
ment of  a  task  that  has  required  infinite  patience,  skill,  tact  and  devotion." 

Dr.  Robert  R.  Moton,  successor  of  Dr.  Booker  T.  Washington  as  principal  of  Tus- 
kegee  Institute: 

"It  is  most  illuminating  and  in  a  real  sense  constructive.  This  is  a  very  good  time  to 
have  it  appear,  because  the  South  was  never  more  anxious  than  at  present  to  know  the  exact 
facts  regarding  the  Negro  at  all  angles." 

Dr.  Talcott  Williams,  Director  of  the  School  of  Journalism  of  Columbia  University* 
noted  for  his  intimate  knowledge  of  national  and  international  problems: 

"I  think  it  will  be  for  years  to  come  the  datum  line  from  which  men  reckon  the  rise  of 
the  Negro." 

Professor  Charles  F.  A.  Currier,  of  the  Department  of  History  and  Political 
Science  of  the  Massachusetts  Institute  of  Technology: 

"The  Bulletin  on  Negro  Education  .  .  .  will  be  of  especial  service  to  me  in  my  treatment 
of  the  Negro  problem  in  my  course  in  United  States  History." 

Professor  Francis  G.  Peabody,  Professor  of  Christian  Morals  of  Harvard  Uni- 
versity: 

'  .  .  .  congratulate  you  on  so  lucid  and  convincing  a  statement.  The  whole  work  in 
which  you  have  been  engaged  seems  to  me  of  national  importance,  well  conceived  and  well 
done." 

Misses  Alice  White  oral  Margaret  Beard,  principals  of  the  Montgomery  Industrial 

School,  white  women  who  labored  through  the  decades  with  practically  no  recognition 
of  their  patriotic  and  Christian  service: 


NEGRO  EDUCATION  33 

"We  realize  that  we  are  indebted  to  you,  and  want  to  express  our  warmest  thanks.    You 
can't  realize  how  much  it  means  to  us  who  have  these  thirty  years  had  comparatively  little 
to  do  with.    Your  judgment  of  the  work  has  helped  us  lift,  and  we  trust  in  coming  days  we 
may  continue  to  merit  what  you  have  so  kindly  said  about  the  school." 
The  "News  Leader"  Richmond,  Virginia,  August  9,  1917: 

"A  work  that  is  commanding  attention  all  over  the  country  is  the  report  on  Negro  educa- 
tion just  issued  in  two  stout  volumes  by  the  United  States  Bureau  of  Education.  The  study 
embraces  close  scrutiny  of  every  private  school  and  every  higher  public  school  for  colored 
people  in  the  entire  nation.  Field  investigation  began  four  years  ago,  and  the  publication 
has  claimed  the  constant  attention  of  a  large  staff  of  experts.  .  .  .  The  constructive  purpose 
comes  out  finely  in  this  statesman-like  exposition.  A  high  plane  of  thought  and  expression 
is  held  to,  thus  eliminating  from  the  equation  many  stumbling  blocks  to  less  trustworthy 
interpretations  of  the  problem  of  the  colored  race. 

"The  second  volume,  which  will  be  found  most  interesting  to  particular  localities,  lays 
bare  the  basis  of  the  conclusions  set  forth  in  the  first  volume.  It  consists  in  the  facts  gained 
in  the  combing  of  individual  institutions.  No  desk,  blackboard,  fence,  dormitory,  teacher 
or  pupil  has  been  left  unexamined.  The  ponds  have  been  dragged.  Every  effort  has  been 
made  to  verify  the  facts  adduced,  sometimes  by  repeated  visits,  sometimes  by  letter. 

"It  is  the  general  thesis  of  this  thorough  study  that  whatever  quarrel  there  may  be  with 
the  propriety  and  usefulness  of  education  for  the  Negro  on  moral,  political  or  more  strictly 
social  grounds,  there  can  be  no  logical  objection  to  making  the  Negro  a  larger  contribution 
to  the  economic  welfare  of  his  own  race  and  to  the  community  in  which  he  lives.  If  his  earn- 
ings can  be  increased  from  75  cents  a  day  to  $1.50  a  day  everybody  is  benefited  and  nobody 
is  injured." 

From  the  same  paper  on  another  date: 

"In  view  of  the  recent  flocking  of  Negroes  to  northern  states  and  the  oft  repeated  inti- 
mation that  their  migration  is  due  to  a  lack  of  educational  and  social  advantages  in  the  South, 
the  question  as  to  what  the  Southern  people  should  actually  do  for  their  'brethren  in  black' 
has  become  rather  an  acute  one.  If  the  problem  is  to  be  solved  by  the  schools — and  assuredly 
the  schools  seem  to  offer  the  best  solution — it  would  be  wise  for  thoughtful  minds  to  ponder 
the  methods  of  mental  and  manual  training  now  prevailing  in  sections  where  the  blacks  are 
found  in  greatest  numbers. 

"Fortunately  much  information  along  this  line  is  now  offered  in  peculiarly  well-considered 
tactful  and  instructive  form  by  the  report  on  Negro  Education  just  issued  by  the  United 
States  Bureau  of  Education,  Washington.  The  Southern  people,  it  must  be  admitted,  have 
not  hitherto  lacked  for  advice  concerning  their  ebon  wards,  but  it  has  usually  come  from 
biased  northern  sources  and  too  often  it  has  been  irritating  in  its  cocksureness  and  narrow 
sectional  viewpoint.  No  such  criticism,  however,  can  be  laid  at  the  doors  of  those  responsible 
for  the  ambitious  publication  here  referred  to.  .  .  . 

"The  work,  which  apparently  ignores  no  phase  of  Negro  education,  was  made  possible 
by  cooperation  between  the  Commissioner  of  Education  and  the  Phelps-Stokes  Fund  of 
New  York.  Not  only  is  the  report  a  history  of  the  past  half  century  of  endeavor  in  behalf  of 
Negro  education  and  a  detailed  stocktaking  of  the  present  conditions,  but  it  is  also  a  hand- 
book for  the  further  development  of  public  and  private  schools  for  the  8,500,000  colored 
people  of  the  South." 


34  EDUCATIONAL  ADAPTATIONS 

The  New  York  Evening  Post: 

"The  growing  body  of  public  opinion.  North  and  South,  that  is  vitally  interested  in  seeing 
the  United  States  prosecute  the  war  and  food  problem  to  a  successful  issue,  will  find  many 
of  its  questions  more  authoritatively  answered  and  a  more  comprehensive  program  for 
constructive  remedy  outlined  in  a  report  just  issued  by  the  United  States  Bureau  of  Educa- 
tion. This  report  is  described  as  a  study  of  the  private  and  higher  schools  for  the  education 
of  the  colored  people,  but  in  reality  it  presents  the  first  complete  picture  which  the  country 
has  had  of  just  what  is  being  done  to  train  the  backbone  of  the  South's  labor  supply  to  work 
according  to  twentieth-century  standards  of  productivity.  The  investigation  has  been  in 
progress  for  the  past  three  years  under  the  joint  auspices  of  Commissioner  P.  P.  Claxton 
of  the  Federal  Bureau  and  the  Phelps-Stokes  Fund  of  New  York.  Dr.  Thomas  Jesse  Jones, 
specialist  in  the  education  of  racial  groups,  not  only  directed  the  whole  study,  but  did  much 
of  the  field  work  himself  and  then  arranged  and  interpreted  in  a  two-volume  report  the 
immense  mass  of  material  collected.  Through  his  efforts  and  his  sympathetic  understand- 
ing^ the  various  forces  at  work,  there  is  now  available  for  the  first  time  in  the  half  century 
of  emancipation  for  the  Negroes  a  survey  of  exactly  what  has  been  done  and  is  now  in 
progress — and  is  still  left  undone — for  the  training  of  the  8,500,000  black  people  in  the  South 
to  produce  not  only  for  their  personal  needs,  but  for  a  surplus  for  the  nation." 

The  "Fisk  University  News,"  Nashville,  Tennessee: 

"The  United  States  Bureau  of  Education  has  put  its  finger  on  every  Negro  school  above 
the  elementary  grades  in  every  community  in  every  State  of  the  Union,  and  has  pointed  out 
definitely  and  fearlessly  their  major  defects  or  their  outstanding  excellencies. 

"The  Bulletin  of  Negro  Education  (1916,  Nos.  38  and  39),  prepared  under  the  direction 
of  Dr.  Thomas  Jesse  Jones,  specialist  in  the  education  of  race  groups,  is  not  only  the  "Who's 
Who  "  in  Negro  schools,  but  it  is  also  a  "  Doomsday  "  book  showing  who  is  not  who.  Regard- 
less of  ownership,  administration,  boards  of  control,  whether  white  or  colored,  southern  or 
northern,  philanthropic  or  denominational,  the  report  causes  each  one  of  the  schools 
examined  to  pass  in  review  before  the  reader,  and  praises  it  unreservedly  or  with  qualifica- 
tions, or  condemns  it  in  the  same  manner. 

"Four  distinct  groups  must  read  or  consult  the  report  or  indict  themselves  for  criminal 
negligence  and  indifference — f.  e.,  (1)  All  Negroes;  (2)  all  the  white  South;  (3)  all  philan- 
thropists who  are  supporting  Negro  schools  or  all  boards  and  agencies  acting  for  these  donors; 
and  (4)  all  denominational  bodies  which  are  conducting  colored  schools. 

"Negroes  first  of  all  must  examine  the  report  because  most  of  the  schools  are  conducted 
by  them,  and  they  will  want  to  know  the  opinion  of  government  experts  relative  to  the  differ- 
ent Negro  schools.  In  the  next  place,  running  through  the  whole  report  is  a  thread  of  definite 
suggestion  as  to  the  future  lines  of  work  which  the  Bureau  endorses  for  all  Negro  schools. 
No  Negro,  whether  he  approves  of  the  suggestion  or  not,  has  any  right  to  claim  interest  in 
his  race  until  he  has  informed  himself  of  this  suggestion  looking  toward  more  concrete  courses 
of  study. 

"Again :  Certain  schools  are  condemned  outright  or  their  discontinuance  is  boldy  recom- 
mended on  prudential  grounds.  At  the  same  time  other  schools  are  warmly  commended  and 
constructive  criticisms  are  made  in  each  case,  making  the  report  by  so  much  an  invaluable 
guide  for  such  institutions  as  care  to  conform  to  Federal  standards. 


NEGRO  EDUCATION  35 

"The  white  people  of  the  South  have  in  their  hands  the  control  of  public  school  education 
for  the  Negro.  The  report  places  on  record,  not  unkindly  but  impartially,  suggestion  of  the 
inequality  of  the  distribution  of  the  school  funds  and  the  poor  equipment  of  the  Negro  schools. 
More  than  this:  The  "land  grant"  colleges  for  Negroes  in  the  South  are  all  managed  by  State 
Boards.  In  practically  every  case  there  is  fundamental  weakness  in  the  system  of  control, 
so  that  these  schools  have  never  risen  fully  to  their  opportunities.  The  South  will  want  to 
see  the  exact  criticism,  favorable  or  unfavorable,  made  on  each  of  these  schools  and  the 
definite  recommendations  made  looking  towards  improvement  and  greater  efficiency. 

"Besides,  since  Negroes  are  inclined  to  live  in  those  places  where  there  are  good  schools 
for  their  children,  the  southern  states,  respectively,  will  be  compared  with  each  other  by 
colored  persons,  to  the  disparagement  of  those  which  make  poor  showing.  Southern  leaders 
will  want  to  know  how  the  states  compare  with  each  other,  so  that  progress  may  be  made  in 
this  direction  in  the  backward  states  of  this  section. 

"Also,  since  the  report  practically  indicates  by  its  criticism  definite  ideals  of  education 
from  the  viewpoint  of  the  Bureau,  the  South,  whether  it  accepts  the  standards  or  not,  cannot 
afford  to  be  ignorant  of  the  standards  which  the  Bureau  sets  for  the  schools  for  Negroes  of 
the  country. 

"To  philanthropic  persons  and  bodies,  the  report  is  invaluable.  In  the  past  a  great  host 
of  solicitors  have  almost  overwhelmed  wealthy  contributors  to  Negro  schools;  and  these 
donors  have  been  in  large  measure  in  the  dark  as  to  the  merits  of  the  various  schools  for 
which  aid  has  been  sought.  This  need  not  be  so  any  longer,  for  every  Negro  school  in  the 
classes  already  indicated  is  represented  and  described. 

"The  various  churches  which  support  schools  must  examine  the  report,  because  in  a 
number  of  cases  the  educational  institutions  so  supported  do  not  make  the  very  best 
showing.  For  example,  of  one  of  the  oldest  and  best  known  schools  of  this  type  it  is  said 
that,  'Owing  to  church  politics  the  institution  has  been  badly  managed  and  its  organization 
is  not  effective,'  a  serious  indictment;  and  all  of  the  church  schools  will  want  to  see  if  they 
have  special  points  of  weakness  like  this  or  elements  of  strength  which  appeal  to  the 
confidence  of  the  public. 

"The  report  is  certain  to  'stir  up  the  lions.'  Its  conclusions  will  not  be  accepted  in  many 
quarters;  and  its  frank  criticisms  will  not  be  relished  in  certain  cases;  but  the  helpful  sug- 
gestions made  all  through  the  volumes  will  mean  much  to  many  worthy  schools  which  have 
not  had  the  benefit  of  unbiased  and  constructive  criticism.  Because  of  all  this,  the  report  will 
be  read  and  consulted  as  few  works  touching  the  Negro  have  ever  been  examined:  and  there 
is  no  question  but  that  certain  definite  good  will  result  to  the  whole  country  from  the  study. 

From  an  editorial  in  the  New  York  Age,  a  paper  published  for  and  hi/ Negroes: 

"Self-Help  in  Education — That  is  'a  truly  remarkable  achievement.'  as  Dr.  Jones  of 
the  Bureau  of  Education  terms  it,  in  his  report,  referred  to  in  another  column,  treating  of  the 
development  of  schools  maintained  solely  through  the  initiative  of  Negroes.  Half  a  million 
dollars  is  the  figure  at  which  the  voluntary  contribution  of  the  race  for  educational  institutions 
is  put  for  each  year.  This  is  apart  from  the  other  moneys  paid  in  the  form  of  taxes,  and  is 
a  supplementary  offering  to  supply  the  deficiences  of  the  public  funds  raised  for  educational 
purposes. 

"Many  interesting  and  encouraging  facts  are  disclosed  by  Dr.  Jones'  investigation,  which 


36  EDUCATIONAL  ADAPTATIONS 

discusses  in  a  most  thorough  manner  the  results  accomplished  as  well  as  the  shortcomings 
to  be  remedied  in  the  matter  of  education  in  the  South. 

"The  determination  of  the  race  has  been  the  quality  that  most  impresses  one  as  a  factor 
in  the  solution  of  the  vast  problem  presented  in  the  unequal  distribution  of  school  funds  in 
the  South.  We  find  that  the  allotment  for  Negro  schools  is  but  one-quarter  of  what  it  would 
be  if  the  school  funds  were  apportioned  between  the  two  races  on  the  basis  of  population. 
How  to  remedy  and  offset  this  disparity  is  one  of  the  most  pressing  questions  before  us. 

"Earnest  and  determined  appeal  to  local  authorities  has  been  resorted  to  in  some 
localities  with  encouraging  results.  When  this  method  fails  private  contributions  have  been 
raised  to  supplement  the  inadequate  provision  by  public  funds.  But  the  determination  to 
provide  an  education  cannot  be  daunted. 

"Dr.  Jones'  report  should  receive  the  careful  study  of  all  those  interested  in  the  various 
phases  of  the  important  subject  that  he  discusses." 

Public  recognition  of  the  significance  of  the  report  is  indicated  in  the  award  to 
the  Educational  Director  (June,  19L20)  of  the  Grant  Squires  Prize,  given  every 
fifth  year  by  Columbia  University  for  "Original  investigations  of  a  sociological 
character  carried  on  during  the  five  years  preceding  the  award." 


II 

EDUCATIONAL  ADAPTIONS 

The  most  definite  contribution  of  the  Survey  of  Negro  Education  to  educational 
method  is  the  description  of  what  may  be  called  educational  adaptations.  Among 
the  schools  and  movements  described  in  the  report  are  some  that  have  won  national 
and  international  appreciation  for  the  effectiveness  of  the  results  achieved  in  the 
development  of  pupils  and  in  the  improvement  of  school-communities.  They  have 
been  pioneers  in  democratizing  education.  Civilized  society  has  long  been  demo- 
cratic in  the  advocacy  of  education  for  all  the  people,  regardless  of  race,  color,  and 
previous  condition,  but  in  curriculum  and  method  the  schools  have  continued 
to  be  aristocratic  and  arbitrary.  Subjects  introduced  in  the  middle  ages  to 
meet  the  needs  of  one  or  more  classes  of  the  people  of  that  time  have  been  retained 
for  their  cultural  value.  Democracy  in  the  content  of  education  demands  that  the 
curriculum  shall  impart  culture  through  knowledge  and  practice  related  to  the 
farm,  the  shop,  the  office,  and,  above  all,  the  home. 

Probably  the  most  striking  illustration  of  this  democratic  element  in  education 
is  the  farm-demonstration  movement  originated  by  Dr.  Seaman  A.  Knapp, 
encouraged  by  the  General  Education  Board,  and  now  applied  nationally  by  the 
United  States  Department  of  Agriculture.  The  fundamental  element  in  the  plan 
is  Dr.  Knapp's  principle  that  the  most  effective  way  to  teach  good  farming  is  to 
prevail  upon  one  farmer  in  every  neighborhood  to  cultivate  an  acre  of  his  land 
according  to  scientific  methods  of  agriculture.  The  effect  of  such  a  plan  has  been 
that  the  farmer  with  the  demonstration  acre  extends  the  plan  to  the  remainder  of 
his  farm  and  the  neighboring  farmers  soon  follow  his  example.  It  has  been  shown 
that  such  an  experimental  plot  is  much  more  effective  than  the  distribution  of 
printed  matter  or  even  explanations  by  traveling  lecturers.  The  economic  and 
educational  significance  of  the  farm-demonstration  movement  is  now  graduallv 
becoming  understood.  Communities  have  lifted  themselves  out  of  poverty. 
Schools  and  churches  and  roads  have  been  built.  The  general  average  of  com- 
munity welfare  has  been  elevated  in  many  rural  districts.  Schoolmen  have  been 
impressed  with  the  value  of  actual  demonstration  in  instruction  and  the  schools 
are  requiring  that  pupils  shall  "learn  to  do  by  doing." 

The  adaptation  of  education  is  proceeding  in  every  phase  and  grade  of  educa- 
tion. It  is  most  important  that  teachers  shall  understand  that  adaptation  does 
not  require  extensive  equipment  and  large  financial  resources.  The  fundamental 
requirement  is  a  consciousness  of  the  real  needs  of  the  pupil  and  the  communitv. 
Those  are  not  meaningless  words  which  Christ  spoke  when  he  said,  "Blessed  are  the 
meek,  for  they  shall  inherit  the  earth."  The  great  scientific  discoveries  have  been 
made  by  those  who  have  heeded  the  seemingly  unimportant  elements.     Education 

37 


38  EDUCATIONAL  ADAPTATIONS 

has  been  most  effective  when  we  have  turned  aside  from  systems  and  curricula  and 
have  placed  the  "child  in  the  midst"  and  have  learned  from  him.  No  part  of  the 
life  of  the  pupil  and  no  element  in  the  community  must  be  despised. 

The  vocational  outlook  of  the  pupils,  their  homes,  their  recreations,  their 
health,  their  morals,  their  disposition  must  be  considered.  Likewise  there  must 
be  careful  observations  of  the  community,  the  human  groupings,  the  roads,  the 
sanitary  arrangements,  the  pleasure  centers,  the  schools,  the  churches,  and  the 
industries.  With  teachers  conscious  of  these  facts,  adaptation  of  every  educational 
activity  will  follow  as  the  day  follows  the  night. 

The  following  paragraphs  present  a  summary  of  the  ideals  and  methods  that 
illustrate  the  educational  adaptations  observed  in  the  survey  of  Negro  Education. 
It  has  seemed  best  to  arrange  the  observations  under  the  general  types  known  as 
industrial  education,  rural  education,  secondary  education  and  college  education. 

Industrial  Education 

The  following  words,  spoken  by  General  Armstrong  as  early  as  1870,  indicate 
a  prophetic  understanding  of  the  educational  principles  and  methods  that  are  now 
being  adopted  by  progressive  educators  throughout  the  civilized  world: 

The  education  needed  is  one  that  touches  upon  the  whole  range  of  life,  that  aims  at  the 
formation  of  good  habits  and  sound  principles,  that  considers  the  details  of  each  day,  that 
enjoins  in  respect  to  diet,  regularity,  proper  selection  and  good  cooking;  in  respect  to  habits, 
suitable  clothing,  exercise,  cleanliness  of  persons  and  quarters  and  ventilation,  also  industry 
and  thrift;  and  in  respect  to  all  things,  intelligent  practice  and  self-restraint. 

In  all  men,  education  is  conditioned  not  alone  on  an  enlightened  head  and  a  changed  heart, 
but  very  largely  on  a  routine  of  industrious  habits,  which  is  to  character  what  the  foundation 
is  to  the  pyramid.  The  summit  should  glow  with  a  divine  light,  interfusing  and  qualifying 
the  whole  mass,  but  it  should  never  be  forgotten  that  it  is  only  upon  a  foundation  of  regular 
daily  activities  that  there  can  be  any  fine  and  permanent  upbuilding.  Morality  and  in- 
dustry generally  go  together. 

Though  the  primary  aim  of  industrial  education  is  the  development  of  sound 
habits  of  hand  and  head,  the  economic  advantages  are  not  to  be  overlooked.  No 
group  of  people  can  attain  a  satisfactory  position  in  life  until  they  are  able  to  make 
a  reasonable  contribution  to  the  economic  welfare  of  their  community.  The  moral 
and  civic  status  is  closely  related  to  the  economic. 

The  phrase  "industrial  education"  as  applied  to  colored  schools  is  very  mis- 
leading. While  the  effective  industrial  schools  are  making  genuine  efforts  to 
develop  industrial  skill,  their  fundamental  purpose  is  much  broader  than  vocational 
efficiency  or  the  resulting  comfort  and  culture.  The  underlying  principle  of  these 
schools  is  the  adaptation  of  educational  activities,  whether  industrial  or  literary, 
to  the  needs  of  the  pupil  and  the  community.  Leaders  in  these  schools  believe 
that  education  should  include  not  only  the  head  but  the  hand  and  the  heart. 
The  industrial  and  manual  programs  of  the  schools  observed  require  the  following 


EDUCATIONAL  ADAPTATIONS  39 

courses  of  instruction  adapted  to  the  varying  needs  of  the  groups  whose  interest 
is  to  be  awakened  and  directed: 

1.  Simple  manual  training  adapted  to  boys  and  girls  in  elementary  schools. 

For  boys  in  elementary  grades  there  should  be  lessons  in  woodwork  and  in 
the  repairs  about  the  school,  the  home,  the  farm,  or  the  shop.  For  girls,  the 
lessons  should  center  about  the  care  of  the  home  and  include  practice  in  cooking 
and  sewing.  Both  boys  and  girls  would  gain  much  from  instruction  and  practice 
in  simple  carpentry,  glazing,  chair  caning,  shoe  mending,  soldering,  repairing 
furniture  and  windows  and  locks,  and  in  similar  activities  entering  into  the  care 
of  the  home.  According  to  the  commission  which  made  a  survey  of  the  Butte, 
Mont.,  schools  the  "minimum  amount  of  time  for  handwork  in  the  elementary 
schools  should  be  one-half  a  day  a  week  through  the  first  six  years,  and  two-half 
days  per  week  in  the  seventh  and  eighth  grades." 

The  essentials  of  industrial  training  for  elementary  schools  are  outlined  in  the 
following  statement  prepared  by  N.  C.  Newbold  of  the  North  Carolina  State  de- 
partment of  public  instruction: 

1.  Sanitation  and  health. — Personal  hygiene:  Body  cleanliness,  care  of  teeth  and  eyes 
and  ears,  food  and  drink.  House  hygiene:  Cleanliness  of  the  house,  keeping  down  dust,  elim- 
ination of  flies  and  mosquitoes,  and  stagnant  water  on  the  premises,  care  of  food  and  water, 
sanitary  outhouses.    School  hygiene:  Cleanliness,  ventilation,  sanitary  closets,  drinking  cups. 

2.  Cooking. — Cleanliness  of  kitchen  and  utensils,  economy  of  time  and  material,  selection 
of  food,  serving  meals,  and  care  of  the  dining  room. 

3.  Sewing. — The  various  kinds  of  stitches,  mending,  plain  sewing,  making  necessary  gar- 
ments for  everyday  wear,  fancy  sewing  and  embroidery,  cutting  and  fitting. 

4.  Housekeeping  and  home  decoration. — Cleanliness,  simplicity,  economy,  selection  of 
furnishings,  homemade  furniture,  decorations  and  pictures,  painting  and  whitewashing, 
laundering,  home  amusements. 

5.  Manual  training. — Simple  repairs  in  wood  and  iron,  use  and  care  of  tools,  making  small 
implements  needed  in  the  house  and  on  the  farm,  lessons  in  elementary  drawing  and  de- 
signing. 

2.  Mechanical  practice  or  household  arts,  vocational  outlook,  and  elementary  economics 

in  secondary  schools. 

Every  secondary  and  higher  school  for  colored  people  should  enable  its  pupils 
first  to  realize  vocational  possibilities  open  to  them;  second,  to  test  their  aptitudes 
in  different  lines  of  activity;  and  third,  to  begin  preparation  for  their  life  work. 
This  requires  a  knowledge  of  elementary  economics  and  an  opportunity  for  prac- 
tice in  mechanical  pursuits  or  in  household  arts.  Such  a  broad  vocational  outlook 
is  vital  not  only  to  the  pupil's  personal  welfare,  but  much  more  to  the  development 
of  an  intelligent  appreciation  of  the  industrial  problems  of  the  masses  of  the  colored 
people.  The  following  quotation  from  the  report  of  the  Commission  on  Secondary 
Education  of  the  National  Education  Association  emphasizes  the  importance  of 
these  elements  in  secondary  education  everywhere: 


40  EDUCATIONAL  ADAPTATIONS 

The  large  number  of  persons  who  will  eventually  enter  industrial  occupations  should 
receive,  while  they  are  of  secondary  school  age: 

1.  Opportunities  for  discovering  any  special  aptitude  which  they  may  possess. 

•2.  Opportunities  for  special  preparation  for  entrance  to  a  skilled  trade. 

3.  Opportunities  for  acquiring  a  knowledge  of  the  principles  governing  the  management, 
supervision,  and  administration  of  the  business  of  industry. 

3.  Rural  or  small-town  trades  offered  in  small  industrial  schools. 

There  are  a  number  of  smaller  institutions  with  genuine  interest  in  industrial 
instruction.  In  these  schools  the  plant  and  equipment  are  usually  sufficient  to 
teach  the  simpler  phases  of  the  occupations  required  in  rural  districts  or  small 
towns.  For  the  young  men,  they  should  endeavor  to  provide  training  in  the  ele- 
ments of  carpentry,  blacksmithing,  bricklaying,  cement  and  concrete  construction, 
adapted  to  small  towns.  Sound  policy  demands  that  the  school  shall  limit  its 
instruction  according  to  the  equipment,  number  of  teachers,  and  the  enrollment  of 
pupils.  Pupils  who  desire  to  prepare  for  city  occupations  or  for  the  more  technical 
trades  should  be  urged  to  prepare  for  larger  trade  schools.  It  is  probable  that  the 
most  effective  daily  program  for  the  smaller  industrial  schools  would  provide  for  a 
half  day  of  classroom  work  and  a  half  day  of  practice  in  the  fields  and  shops  every 
day.     No  single  program  can  possibly  meet  all  conditions. 

4.  Trade  schools  preparing  industrial  teachers  and  tradesmen  for  the  mechanical 
pursuits  and  household  arts  for  women. 

There  are  at  least  three  essentials  of  a  genuine  trade  school: 

1.  Teachers  who  combine  real  mechanical  skill  and  practical  knowledge  of  the 
trades  with  ability  to  teach.  A  broad  education  contributes  much  to  the  influence 
of  the  teacher. 

2.  A  time  program  that  provides  practice  as  nearly  as  possible  like  that  of  the 
occupation  to  be  learned.  The  time  programs  at  present  include  schools  requiring 
only  one  practice  day  each  week,  those  with  five  half-days  of  practice  each  week, 
those  with  alternate  days  in  school  and  shop,  and  one  institution  requiring  six 
8-hour  days  each  week  in  the  shop. 

3.  Facilities  for  teaching  the  trades  under  conditions  that  are  as  nearly  as 
possible  like  those  of  the  actual  trade.  Preference  should  be  given  to  the  facilities 
for  the  trades  in  which  there  is  greatest  demand  for  wrorkmen. 

The  first  step  in  the  consideration  of  trades  for  colored  women  is  to  determine 
the  exteait  to  which  it  is  wise  to  encourage  them  to  specialize  in  different  occupations. 
The  uncertainty  on  this  point  is  due  to  the  great  demand  for  young  women  of 
general  training  adapted  to  become  teachers  of  the  masses  of  the  colored  people. 
The  wise  course  is  probably  to  encourage  the  institutions  to  devote  most  of  their 
resources  to  the  general  course  in  household  arts  but  to  keep  the  door  open  for 
young  women  of  special  aptitudes  to  become  skilled  in  such  occupations  as  millinery 
dressmaking,  tailoring,  and  trained  nursing. 


EDUCATIONAL  ADAPTATIONS  41 

Rural  Education 

It  is  exceedingly  unfortunate  that  many  of  the  educational  leaders  of  the 
colored  people  have  not  sufficiently  appreciated  the  significance  of  the  remarkable 
progress  of  the  Negro  race  in  agriculture.  It  is  not  surprising,  however,  that  the 
unfavorable  conditions  under  which  many  of  the  Negroes  have  been  working  in 
rural  districts  should  delude  the  superficial  observer  into  the  belief  that  some  urban 
occupation  is  to  be  preferred. 

Unfortunate  as  the  rural  conditions  of  the  colored  people  may  be,  their  educa- 
tional leaders  should  realize,  first,  that  the  most  significant  and  the  most  sub- 
stantial gains  made  by  the  race  are  in  the  rural  communities,  and  secondly,  that 
whatever  their  condition  may  be,  the  large  majority  of  them  are  now  living  in  the 
country,  actually  working  on  the  soil,  and  earning  thereby  the  little  or  the  much 
which  is  necessary  to  purchase  food  and  clothes,  to  send  their  children  to  school, 
and  to  open  the  doors  of  larger  opportunities  for  the  future. 

The  rural  progress  of  the  race  is  fairly  well  measured  by  the  rapidity  with  which 
the  agricultural  workers  have  been  passing  from  the  rank  of  farm  laborers  to  that 
of  tenants  and  later  to  that  of  owners. 

General  Armstrong,  the  founder  of  Hampton  Institute,  urged  the  importance 
of  agricultural  education  from  the  very  beginning  of  his  work.  The  wisdom  and 
force  of  his  words  on  this  subject  are  illustrated  by  the  following  quotations  from 
his  annual  school  reports  for  the  years  between  1870  and  1890: 

"The  temporal  salvation  of  the  colored  race  for  some  time  to  come  is  to  be  won  out  of  the 
ground. 

"The  Negro  race  will  succeed  or  fail  as  it  shall  devote  itself  with  energy  to  agricultural 
and  mechanic  arts  or  avoid  these  pursuits,  and  its  teachers  must  be  inspired  with  the  spirit 
of  hard  work  and  acquainted  with  the  ways  that  lead  to  material  success. 

"Teaching  and  farming  go  well  together  in  the  present  condition  of  things  (in  the  South). 
The  teacher  farmer  is  the  man  for  the  times;  he  is  essentially  an  educator  throughout  the 
year. 

"To  put  into  every  state  an  agricultural  school  and  experiment  station  open  to  the  col- 
ored race  and  adapted  to  their  especial  needs,  in  direct  communication  with  their  leading 
farmers,  spreading  through  circulars  and  bulletins,  practical  information,  ami  furnishing 
stimulus  to  thousands  who  now  never  see  anything  of  the  sort— this  is  a  work  which  should 
be  provided  for  in  any  broad,  national  plan  for  educational  improvement  in  the  South." 

The  improvement  of  rural  conditions  and  the  proper  cultivation  of  the  soil 
require  at  least  five  types  of  instruction  adapted  to  the  varying  needs  of  the  five 
groups  whose  interest  is  to  be  awakened  and  directed.     These  are  as  follows: 

1.  Science  and  practice  of  gardening  for  all  pupils  in  rural  and  urban  schools. 

2.  Science  and  practice  of  gardening  with  instruction  in  civics,  economics,  and 
teacher  training,  for  all  secondary  pupils  and  persons  preparing  to  be  ministers  and 
teachers. 


42  EDUCATIONAL  ADAPTATIONS 

3.  Two-year  courses  in  agriculture  to  prepare  farmers  for  the  cultivation  of 
the  usual  30  or  40-acre  farm. 

4.  Four-year  courses  for  those  desiring  to  be  agricultural  teachers,  farm  demon- 
strators or  managers  of  large  farms. 

5.  Rural  extension  activities  for  the  entire  community. 

1.  Science  and  Practice  of  Gardening  in  Rural  and  Urban  Schools. 

No  phase  of  agricultural  instruction  has  been  so  much  neglected  as  gardening. 
The  propaganda  for  country  life  and  agriculture  in  America  seems  to  have  over- 
looked the  garden,  and  to  have  left  it  to  the  whims  of  the  suburban  soil  enthusiast. 
No  phase  of  soil-culture  has  such  a  variety  of  important  possibilities  as  gardening. 
These  possibilities  include  the  economic  returns  of  the  home  garden,  both  in  town 
and  country,  and  especially  in  its  use  to  supplement  the  salary  of  the  rural  teacher 
and  minister.  They  include  the  educational  value  of  the  garden  as  an  elementary 
school  activity,  as  an  illustration  of  intensive  agriculture,  as  a  laboratory  for  agri- 
cultural schools,  and  as  the  recruiting  field  in  which  pupils  may  be  introduced  to  the 
wonders  of  soil-culture,  and  thus  won  for  service  in  rural  life.  Furthermore,  gar- 
dening has  unique  value  in  the  cultivation  of  character,  both  in  the  individual  and 
in  the  family.  This  social  value  is  attained  by  the  union  of  the  family  in  the  plant- 
ing and  cultivation,  by  exchange  and  cooperation  with  neighbors  similarly 
engaged,  and  by  the  development  of  marketing  skill  and  habits  of  saving  small 
earnings.  As  a  suggestion  of  the  essentials  of  a  course  in  vegetable  gardening  for 
rural  and  urban  schools,  the  following  statement  has  been  prepared  by  the  United 
States  Bureau  of  Education: 

Children  in  the  primary  grade  should  have  projects  consisting  of  the  growing  of  some 
vegetables  in  the  home  garden.  The  children  in  the  first  grade  should  plant  radish  seed  in 
the  spring,  snap  beans  in  the  summer,  and  onion  sets  in  the  late  fall  and  winter.  The  children 
in  the  second  grade  should  plant  mustard  in  the  spring,  tomatoes  in  the  summer,  and  spinach 
in  the  late  fall  and  winter.  The  children  in  the  third  grade  should  plant  lettuce  in  the  spring, 
corn  in  the  summer,  and  cabbage  in  the  late  fall  and  winter.  These  projects  should  become 
a  regular  part  of  the  grade  work  and  should  be  measured  by  the  same  standards  as  the  other 
school  activities. 

Children  in  the  elementary  grades  should  be  required  to  have  a  vegetable  garden  at  least 
20  feet  by  20  feet  either  at  home  or  in  a  nearby  vacant  lot.  To  insure  the  best  results,  it 
would  be  necessary  for  a  teacher  to  visit  each  garden  at  least  once  a  week  and  direct  the  work. 
Children  fail  as  gardeners  when  the  problem  of  plant  growth  becomes  so  complex  that 
interest  is  lost.  Through  the  raising  of  vegetables  the  children  should  learn  from  the  teacher 
how  to  manage  soil,  how  to  plant,  cultivate  and  harvest  the  vegetables  so  as  to  get  the  best 
results,  as  well  as  how  to  keep  accurate  records  of  garden  expenditures  and  receipts.  The 
success  of  the  garden  will  depend  upon  the  accuracy  and  thoroughness  with  which  the 
garden  rules  are  practiced. 


EDUCATIONAL  ADAPTATIONS  43 

2.  Gardening  and  Economics  in  Higher  Schools. 

In  view  of  the  large  proportion  of  colored  people  in  rural  districts  and  on  farms, 
it  is  evident  that  every  secondary  school  and  every  private  and  higher  institution 
should  make  it  possible  for  pupils  to  appreciate  the  economic  significance  of  garden- 
ing and  soil  cultivation,  to  know  the  relation  of  soil  to  soul,  to  know  that  farming 
is  not  mere  drudgery,  but  the  source  of  culture  as  well  as  prosperity.  Such  is 
the  importance  of  rural  life  that  the  teachers  of  other  subjects  should  use  every 
opportunity  which  their  subjects  offer  to  arouse  interest  in  the  improvement  of 
rural  conditions.  This  applies  especially  to  the  teacher  of  economics  and  education. 
For  students  who  are  preparing  to  be  teachers  and  ministers  this  course  should  be 
required  just  as  far  as  time  will  permit.  For  such  students  knowledge  of  soil 
processes  means  not  merely  a  needed  supplement  to  their  meager  salaries,  but, 
what  is  much  more  significant,  a  point  of  contact  with  the  people.  It  is  probable 
that  the  future  of  rural  districts  will  be  largely  determined  by  the  teacher  and 
the  preacher  with  a  genuine  and  intelligent  interest  in  the  soil  and  its  possibilities 
Even  the  prospective  medical  student  would  do  well  to  obtain  this  broad  view  of 
agriculture  before  he  enters  on  his  medical  course. 

The  following  course  has  been  prepared  by  the  United  States  Bureau  of  Educa- 
tion. The  course  should  be  required  of  every  pupil  and  should  cover  five  periods 
a  week  for  one  year  and  a  half.  Experience  shows  that  the  greatest  emphasis 
should  be  centered  in  the  actual  carrying  out  of  the  projects.  The  class-room 
instruction  should  be  reduced  to  the  minimum  and  should  only  be  used  to  supple- 
ment the  projects  and  answer  the  questions  that  arise  through  actual  doing  of  the 
work.  It  is  especially  desirable  that  pupils  living  in  the  neighborhood  of  the  school 
should  work  out  the  projects  at  their  homes.  Another  important  requirement  of 
success  in  this  course  is  the  employment  of  a  teacher  who  should  devote  the  entire 
year  to  the  work. 

This  course  should  include  all  agricultural  activities  possible  on  a  homestead — vegetable 
gardening,  fruit  growing,  flower  culture  both  for  ornamental  and  selling  purposes,  care  of 
chickens,  a  dairy  cow,  and  swine. 

Through  vegetable  gardening,  the  students  should  learn  how  to  plan  and  manage  a  twelve 
months'  garden  for  the  intensive  production  of  vegetables.  They  should  be  familiar  with 
companion  and  succession  crops  and  the  best  methods  of  rotation.  They  should  learn  the 
varieties  adapted  to  season,  how  to  make  and  manage  a  hot  bed  and  cold  frame,  how  to 
manage  the  soil,  how  to  plant  and  cultivate,  how  to  control  pests,  and  how  to  harvest  both 
annual  and  perennial  vegetables  so  as  to  get  the  best  results. 

In  the  growing  of  fruit,  the  students  should  learn  the  soil  requirements,  methods  of 
propagation,  cultivation,  spraying,  harvesting,  marketing  of  such  fruits  as  strawberries, 
dewberries,  raspberries,  blackberries,  cherries,  peaches,  quinces,  and  apples. 

Through  flower  growing,  the  students  should  learn  how  to  make  and  root  cuttings,  such 
as  geraniums,  roses  and  hardy  shrubs.  They  should  become  familiar  with  annual,  biennial, 
and  perennial  flowers  suitable  for  home  decorations.  They  should  learn  how  to  make  and 
manage  hardy  flower  borders,  how  to  plan  and  plant  a  front  yard. 


44  EDUCATIONAL   ADAPTATIONS 

Through  the  care  of  chickens,  the  students  should  learn  the  principles  involved  in  breed- 
ing, incubation,  brooding;  feeding  for  rearing,  egg  production  and  fattening;  housing  and 
sanitation;  diseases  and  parasites;  and  the  marketing  of  products. 

The  student  should  learn  how  to  feed,  breed,  house  and  care  for  a  dairy  cow  in  order  to 
produce  sanitary  milk  and  butter  economically.  They  should  also  learn  how  to  raise  a  calf. 
In  addition,  they  should  learn  how  to  breed,  feed,  house,  and  manage  swine  for  economic 
production  of  pork,  and  how  to  cure  and  market  the  products. 

3.  Two-year  Course  for  Farmers. 

The  distinctive  purpose  of  the  smaller  agricultural  school  is  to  prepare  pupils 
to  become  effective  small  farmers  and  to  assist  the  local  farmers  to  improve  their 
methods.  If  the  elementary  school  facilities  for  colored  people  were  satisfactory, 
it  might  be  wise  to  urge  the  type  of  school  known  as  the  "Irish  agricultural  station 
school."  This  type  is  successfully  used  in  Ireland  to  give  farm  training  to  youths 
who  are  18  years  of  age  and  have  finished  the  elementary  schools.  The  school 
term  is  1-2  months.  A  pupil  remains  only  one  year  and  receives  his  board  and  from 
SSO  to  $o0  for  his  work.  The  day  is  divided  into  10  hours  on  the  farm  and  3  hours 
in  the  night  school.  The  pupils  are  divided  into  a  farm  group  and  a  barn  group, 
so  that  their  hours  may  be  suited  to  the  necessities  of  each  department.  Every 
pupil  spends  a  part  of  his  time  in  both  departments.  The  majority  of  those  finish- 
ing the  year's  work  become  farmers.  Those  with  qualifications  for  further  study 
take  an  additional  year  at  Albert  College  so  as  to  prepare  for  supervisory  positions. 
The  few  students  who  are  prepared  to  take  a  complete  course  are  sent  to  the  Royal 
College  of  Arts  and  Sciences,  where  they  spend  four  years  in  general  college  studies, 
including  considerable  laboratory  research  and  some  farm  practice. 

There  is  much  that  is  suggestive  in  this  idea.  Missionary  educators  the  world 
over  are  troubled  about  the  adult  pupil  who  is  not  able  to  follow  the  higher  academic 
courses  and  too  old  to  follow  the  secondary.  This  would  seem  to  offer  a  solution  of 
the  problem. 

4.  Course  to  Prepare  Agricultural  Teachers  and  Farm  Demonstrators. 

The  first  essential  of  an  agricultural  school  is  a  farm,  operated  in  such  a  way  as 
to  combine  the  profitable  cultivation  of  the  land  with  the  educational  use  of  student 
labor.  The  elements  required  to  realize  this  important  purpose  have  been  outlined 
as  follows: 

1.  A  man  with  sound  ideals  of  education  and  business  ability  who  likes  to  work 
with  his  hands  and  believes  that  well-directed  farm  labor  has  educational  value. 

2.  A  farm,  conveniently  located  and  moderate  in  size,  so  that  students  may  pass 
from  work  lessons  on  the  farm  to  classroom  lessons  without  undue  loss  of  time. 

3.  Practical  equipment  similar  to  that  required  at  the  student's  farm  home. 

4.  A  firm  conviction  in  the  minds  of  teachers  and  students  that  doing  is  more 
important  than  talking,  so  that  all  will  regard  farm  Avork  as  a  more  significant  test 
of  educational  advancement  than  written  papers  or  recitations. 


EDUCATIONAL  ADAPTATIONS  45 

5.  Payment  of  students  for  farm  work  on  the  basis  of  value  of  products  rather 
than  time  spent.  Work  done  for  permanent  improvement,  or  for  the  sake  of  the 
appearance  of  the  farm,  should  not  be  charged  against  the  crops.  Students  who 
are  working  to  supplement  their  expenses  should  be  tested  on  appearance  work, 
such  as  cleaning  up  and  filling  gullies. 

6.  So  far  as  possible,  only  agricultural  students  should  be  employed  on  the 
farm,  and  the  work  should  be  so  planned  and  supervised  that  its  educational  ad- 
vantages are  realized. 

7.  So  far  as  possible,  only  those  crops  should  be  produced  for  which  there  is  a 
sure  market  either  at  the  dining  hall,  in  nearby  markets,  or  in  the  general  market 
for  staple  cash  crops. 

8.  The  buildings,  like  stock  and  equipment,  should  be  maintained  on  an  efficient 
basis. 

Agricultural  schools  are  requiring  more  and  more  practice  in  the  various  phases 
of  farming.  The  following  statement  from  the  prospectus  of  one  of  the  Massa- 
chusetts agricultural  schools  is  an  excellent  account  of  "Project  study  and  work." 

The  course  of  study  is  made  each  year  to  center  on  and  support  one  particular  branch  of 
farming,  so  that  the  work  of  that  year  may  be  in  some  degree  complete  in  itself,  although  at 
the  same  time  it  is  preparation  for  the  study  of  succeeding  years.  By  this  arrangement  an 
excellent  four-years'  course  is  provided,  and  yet  it  is  possible  for  a  pupil  to  enter  for  one,  two, 
or  three  years,  and  get  full  value  for  his  time  and  effort.  Furthermore,  each  pupil  is  required 
to  undertake,  during  the  year,  a  "project"  in  the  productive  agriculture  about  which  his 
studies  for  the  year  center;  for  example,  the  second  year,  while  studying  small  animals,  it 
may  be  the  management  and  caring  for  a  few  hives  of  bees,  or  of  a  flock  of  poultry,  or  hog 
raising;  hence  the  terms  "project  study"  and  "project  work."  In  this  project  he  makes  his 
plans,  carries  out  his  work,  does  his  own  financing  and  marketing,  and  keeps  careful  records 
of  the  business,  all  of  which  is  usually  done  at  his  own  home,  but  under  the  direction  of  an 
instructor. 

A  four-year  course  of  instruction  should  offer  not  only  the  science  and  practice 
of  agriculture  but  also  general  science,  rural  economics  and  sociology,  teacher 
training,  applied  mathematics,  and  English. 

5.  Rural  Extension  Activities. 

Schools  are  recognizing  more  and  more  their  responsibility  to  their  communities. 
Numerous  types  of  activity  have  been  availed  of  to  improve  rural  conditions. 
Few  institutions,  even  for  white  people,  have  equaled  Hampton  and  Tuskegee 
in  extension  work.  While  a  number  of  the  colored  schools  are  maintaining  neigh- 
borhood activities,  there  is  a  great  need  for  the  increase  of  all  extension  efforts  in 
behalf  of  rural  conditions  of  colored  people.  The  principal  types  of  activity  that 
are  adapted  to  the  needs  of  the  Negro  communities  are  listed  herewith : 

1.  Farm  demonstration  work  to  show  the  Negro  farmer  how  to  use  modern 
methods  of  cultivating  his  farm. 


4G  EDUCATIONAL  ADAPTATIONS 

2.  County  supervisors  to  direct  rural  teachers  in  gardening  and  other  phases  of 
soil  cultivation. 

3.  Farmers'  institutes  to  bring  together  the  young  people  of  a  community  for 
a  few  days  of  instruction  in  rural  methods. 

4.  Short  courses,  varying  from  a  few  days  to  three  months,  for  farmers  who  can 
not  take  a  regular  course. 

5.  Farmers'  conference  and  fair  to  assemble  neighboring  farmers  for  a  day  or 
two  of  encouragement  and  guidance  in  farm  work. 

6.  Boys'  and  girls'  clubs  to  arouse  interest  in  the  simple  but  vital  needs  of 
country  life,  including  the  canning  of  fruits  and  vegetables,  gardening,  and  crop 
production. 

General  Considerations 

In  considering  the  means  and  methods  of  agricultural  instruction,  it  is  im- 
portant to  realize  that  efforts  of  schools  are  seriously  hampered  if  there  is  no  general 
program  for  the  improvement  of  rural  conditions.  The  more  important  elements 
of  the  general  problem  have  been  well  outlined  by  Albert  Leake  in  the  following 
statements: 

1.  A  system  of  education  suited  to  local  conditions  and  to  the  everyday  experi- 
ences of  country  children,  thus  relating  them  to  the  opportunities  surrounding 
them  and  developing  their  intellects  through  a  reasonable  agricultural  and  natural 
history  outlook. 

2.  The  adaptation  of  the  education  of  the  boy  and  girl,  from  14  to  19  years  of 
age,  toward  productive  efficiency  along  agricultural  and  home-making  lines. 

3.  The  training  of  the  adult  farmer  in  methods  of  soil  cultivation  and  farm 
management  according  to  scientific  principles,  and  the  proper  dissemination  of 
the  available  knowledge  on  these  subjects. 

4.  A  serious  consideration  of  the  conditions  of  the  farm  home  and  the  work 
that  is  carried  on  therein.  Agriculture  is  a  home  industry,  and  the  work  of  the 
woman  plays  a  more  important  part  in  it  than  in  any  other  industry.  The  drift 
from  the  country  to  the  city  is  greatly  influenced  by  the  conditions  of  the  farm 
home. 

5.  The  development  of  sound  business  methods  in  all  farming  operations  and 
the  establishment  of  cooperative  methods  of  farming,  distribution  of  product?, 
and  buying  of  supplies.  This  entails  consideration  of  the  means  by  which  the 
farmer  may  fairly  obtain  money  for  the  extension  of  his  operations. 

6.  An  understanding  of  the  social  and  economic  advantages  of  good  roads  and 
other  methods  of  transportation. 

7.  A  revitalization  and  redirection  of  country  life,  in  order  that  the  higher 
aspirations  of  farmers  may  find  their  satisfaction  in  the  richer  life  that  the  country 
may  be  made  to  offer. 


EDUCATIONAL  ADAPTATIONS  47 

Secondary  Education 

^  In  order  to  understand  the  place  of  secondary  schools  in  the  plan  of  education, 
it  is  necessary  to  outline  the  general  purpose  of  secondary  education  in  the  American 
school  system.  It  is  safe  to  say  that  the  possibilities  of  this  phase  of  education 
have  been  greatly  underestimated  because  the  main  purpose  of  the  traditional  high 
school  course  has  been  preparation  for  college  rather  than  preparation  for  life. 
The  subject  matter  of  these  schools  has  been  largely  the  conventional  knowledge 
desired  by  those  who  had  more  leisure  than  responsibility.  Subjects  have  been 
retained  in  the  course  for  their  alleged  "disciplinary"  or  decorative  value  rather 
than  for  their  actual  and  practical  values. 

With  the  increasing  demand  for  democracy  in  education,  the  high  schools  are 
now  recognizing  the  importance  of  providing  instruction  adapted  to  the  needs  of 
the  pupils  and  the  community.  They  are  also  realizing  that  modern  sciences  have 
made  discoveries  and  achieved  results  that  challenge  the  right  of  the  ancient 
classics  to  a  prominent  place  in  the  education  of  the  youth. 

The  type  of  secondary  education  should  vary  with  the  needs  of  the  community. 
It  is  apparent  that  an  effective  institution  in  the  rural  district  must  be  organized 
with  reference  to  the  agricultural  life  of  the  people.  A  city  school  should  like- 
wise have  regard  for  the  industrial,  hygienic,  and  educational  needs  of  the  urban 
community.  There  are  also  schools  that  select  special  objectives,  such  as  the 
training  of  teachers,  ministers,  farmers,  or  industrial  workers.  The  special  features 
of  the  different  types  are  described  in  the  other  chapters  of  this  volume.  With 
all  their  variations  there  are,  however,  a  number  of  subjects  and  activities  that 
should  be  included  in  the  curriculum  of  all  secondary  schools. 

With  the  adoption  of  the  welfare  of  the  pupil  and  the  community  as  the 
objectives  of  educational  effort,  every  school  activity  will  be  so  directed  as  to  contri- 
bute to  these  ends  in  every  possible  direction.  Not  only  will  the  English  course, 
for  example,  contribute  an  appreciation  of  the  English  language,  but  everv 
opportunity  will  be  taken  in  the  course  to  broaden  the  pupil's  interest  in  such  vital 
topics  as  agriculture,  sanitation,  right  conduct,  and  future  occupation.  Arith- 
metical processes  will  be  used  to  enable  the  pupil  to  have  a  clearer  understanding 
of  his  community.  Percentages  will  be  calculated  to  show  the  decrease  of  illiteracy, 
the  increase  in  land  ownership,  the  relative  death  rate  of  cities  and  states,  etc. 
Thus  each  school  activity  would  so  far  as  possible  be  made  to  supplement  the 
contributions  of  all  the  others. 

The  adaptation  of  some  of  the  secondary  activities  is  so  striking  as  to  require 
comment.  The  following  paragraphs  outline  the  changes  that  have  been  observed 
in  some  institutions: 

Foreign  Languages. — It  is  not  necessary  to  consider  the  relative  merits  of  the 
study  of  different  foreign  or  ancient  languages.  All  will  admit  some  value  in  any 
language.     The  selection  of  the  language  and  the  time  to  be  assigned  to  it  in 


48  EDUCATIONAL  ADAPTATIONS 

colored  schools  should  depend  entirely  on  the  practical  disciplinary  and  cultural 
value  of  the  study  of  that  language  in  comparison  with  other  subjects  or  activities 
in  the  course.  How  much  time  can  be  spared  for  Latin  when  the  pupil  has  not  a 
respectable  knowledge  of  the  English  language?  Can  time  be  given  to  Greek 
when  the  pupil  is  ignorant  of  the  elements  of  physics  or  chemistry?  Should  French 
be  studied  if  it  means  the  exclusion  of  physiology  or  hygiene  from  the  curriculum? 
These  are  the  administrative  problems  to  be  considered.  There  is  no  doubt 
whatever  that  an  immense  amount  of  time  is  relatively  wasted  in  trying  to  give  a 
smattering  of  two  or  three  languages.  Sound  policy  would  be  to  teach  one  language 
so  thoroughly  that  the  pupil  has  real  control  of  it  for  his  future  study  and  recreation. 
Modern  languages  are  generally  to  be  preferred  to  ancient  languages.  The  mastery 
of  French  or  German  or  Spanish  would  be  immeasurably  more  valuable  than  a 
superficial  knowledge  of  a  dozen  languages,  ancient  or  modern. 

Mathematics. — Mathematics  has  a  genuine  claim  to  an  important  place  in 
secondary  education.  Quantitative  statements  of  all  physical  and  social  activities 
demand  a  knowledge  of  mathematical  processes.  The  manipulation  of  the  definite 
relationships  of  exact  factors  as  they  appear  in  mathematics  is  a  most  valuable 
mental  activity,  which  all  pupils  should  have.  To  emotional  groups,  prone  to 
action  without  adequate  thought,  thorough  practice  in  mathematical  processes 
is  essential.  The  questions  that  have  recently  arisen  with  regard  to  the  place  of 
mathematics  in  the  school  curriculum  do  not  pertain  to  the  essential  value  of  this 
subject.  The  points  of  doubt  are  on  such  questions  as:  How  much  time  shall  be 
devoted  to  the  various  branches  of  mathematics?  How  much  should  mathe- 
matics be  taught  in  problems  related  to  the  life  of  the  pupil  and  the  community? 
^'hat  are  the  relative  claims  of  mathematics  as  against  other  studies?  The  answer 
to  these  questions  for  colored  schools  should  probably  be  determined  by  the  very 
inadequate  instruction  in  arithmetic  given  in  the  elementary  schools  and  also  by 
the  students'  need  of  other  subjects  more  vitally  related  to  his  community.  It  is 
probable  that  the  wise  course  for  a  majority  of  these  schools  would  be  to  require  a 
thorough  knowledge  of  fundamental  arithmetical  processes  with  sufficient  skill 
for  practical  use,  special  proficiency  in  the  applications  of  arithmetic  to  the  pupils' 
occupations,  with  a  limited  amount  of  algebra  and  geometry  to  aid  in  arithmetical 
processes.  Possibly  the  following  recommendation  of  the  Association  of  Teachers 
of  Mathematics  in  New   England  is  adapted  to  the  needs  of  some  of  the  schools: 

A  one-year  course  in  elementary  algebra  and  geometry  of  a  concrete  sort,  designed  so  far 
as  possible,  to  test  the  pupils'  qualifications  for  future  mathematical  study. 

Physiology,  Hygiene,  and  Sanitation. — The  principles  of  good  health  should  be 
taught  both  in  the  elementary  and  secondary  grades.  The  study  of  physiology 
and  hygiene  is  of  value  not  only  in  the  improvement  of  health  conditions  but  also 
in  the  development  of  a  scientific  point  of  view  by  the  pupils.  There  is  probably 
no  subject  more  effective  in  overcoming  superstition  in  all  its  forms  than  a  knowledge 
of  the  principles  that  underly  the  health  of  the  individual  and  the  community. 


EDUCATIONAL  ADAPTATIONS  49 

With  the  discovery  that  malaria  is  traceable  to  mosquitoes  and  typhoid  fever  to 
flies  and  filth,  the  pupil  is  able  to  free  himself  from  the  superstitions  of  his  com- 
munity and  begin  to  develop  a  scientific  attitude  toward  the  physical  and  social 
forces  that  surround  him.  For  the  colored  race,  with  its  death  rate  much  higher 
than  that  of  the  white  people,  it  is  most  important  that  something  should  be 
done  to  give  a  comprehensive  knowledge  of  physiology  and  hygiene  and  to  inculcate 
habits  of  obedience  to  health  laws. 

Sciences. — The  great  achievements  of  modern  times  are  largely  in  the  realm  of 
the  physical  sciences.  Physics,  chemistry,  and  biology  have  revolutionized  many 
of  the  industrial  and  social  activities  of  mankind.  No  phase  of  secondary  educa- 
tion is  more  vital  than  the  instruction  of  the  pupils  in  the  elements  of  these  sciences. 

Social  Studies,  Including  History. — Each  study  in  the  group  that  comprises 
history,  community  civics,  and  elementary  economics  has  great  possibilities  if  the 
teacher  has  any  appreciation  of  the  remarkable  social  forces  that  are  now  working 
vital  changes  in  human  affairs.  The  following  quotations  from  the  report  of  the 
Commission  on  the  Reorganization  of  Secondary  Education  will  indicate  the  char- 
acter of  the  work  in  social  studies : 

Good  citizenship  should  be  the  aim  of  social  studies  in  the  high  school.  While  the  admin- 
istration and  instruction  throughout  the  school  should  contribute  to  the  social  welfare  of  the 
community,  it  is  maintained  that  social  studies  have  direct  responsibility  in  this  field.  Facts, 
conditions,  theories,  and  activities  that  do  not  contribute  rather  directly  to  the  appreciation 
of  methods  of  human  betterment  have  no  claim.  Under  this  test  the  old  civics,  almost 
exclusively  a  study  of  government  machinery,  must  give  why  to  the  new  civics,  a  study  of  all 
manner  of  social  efforts  to  improve  mankind.  It  is  not  so  important  that  the  pupil  know 
how  the  president  is  elected  as  that  he  shall  understand  the  duties  of  the  health  officer  in 
his  community.  The  time  formerly  spent  in  the  effort  to  understand  the  process  of  passing  a 
law  over  the  President's  veto  is  now  to  be  more  profitably  used  in  the  observation  of  the 
vocational  resources  of  the  community.  In  line  with  this  emphasis  the  committee  recommends 
that  social  studies  in  the  high  school  shall  include  such  topics  as  the  following:  Community 
health,  housing  and  homes,  public  recreation,  good  roads,  community  education,  poverty 
and  the  care  of  the  poor,  crime  and  reform,  family  income,  and  savings  banks  and  life  insur- 
ance. 

It  is  one  of  the  essential  qualifications  of  the  good  citizen  to  be  self-supporting  and  by  the 
activities  necessary  to  his  self-support  to  contribute  efficiently  to  the  world's  work.  Not  onlj 
is  it  important  that  this  fact  be  especially  emphasized  in  the  civic  education  of  the  youth, 
but  it  is  also  appropriate  that  he  be  given  as  much  enlightenment  as  possible  to  assist  him  in 
choosing  his  vocation  wisely  from  the  standpoint  of  social  efficiency.  The  Committee  on 
Social  Studies  believes  that  all  education  should  take  account  of  vocational  needs  and  should 
contribute  to  the  preparation  of  the  youth  for  an  intelligent  choice  of  vocation  and  for  effi- 
ciency in  it. 

History,  too,  must  answer  the  test  of  good  citizenship.  The  old  chronicler  who  recorded 
the  deeds  of  kings  and  warriors  and  neglected  the  labors  of  the  common  man  is  dead.  The 
great  palaces  and  cathedrals  and  pyramids  are  often  but  the  empty  shells  of  a  parasitic 
growth  on  the  working  group.    The  elaborate  descriptions  of  these  old  tombs  are  but  sounding 


50  EDUCATIONAL  ADAPTATIONS 

brass  and  tinkling  cymbals  compared  to  the  record  of  tbe  joys  and  sorrows,  the  hopes  and 
disappointments  of  the  masses,  who  are  infinitely  more  important  than  any  arrangement  of 
wood  and  stone  and  iron.  In  this  spirit  recent  history  is  more  important  than  that  of  ancient 
times;  the  history  of  our  own  country  than  that  of  foreign  lands;  the  records  of  our  own 
institutions  and  activities  than  that  of  strangers;  the  labors  and  plans  of  the  multitudes  than 
the  pleasures  and  dreams  of  the  few. 

Supplementary  Subject*. — Three  other  subjects  are  of  such  special  importance 
that  their  claims  on  secondary  education  must  be  mentioned.  These  three  sub- 
jects are:  business  methods,  tbe  development  of  good  taste  through  simple  lessons 
in  art,  and  music.  Sound  ideals  and  habits  in  business  are  fundamental  to  all 
people.  For  the  colored  people,  just  beginning  their  business  activities,  it  is 
absolutely  essential  that  the  schools  shall  not  only  give  a  knowledge  of  business 
methods,  but  that  they  shall  cultivate  habits  of  business  promptness  and  fidelity. 
Music  is  described  by  one  school  as  the  "natural  heritage  of  the  Negro,"  and  it  is 
pointed  out  that  it  is  the  aim  of  the  school  to  turn  this  heritage  to  practical  account. 
Lessons  in  good  taste  are  of  value  in  the  care  of  the  home,  in  the  selection  of  dress, 
and  in  improving  the  appearance  of  the  neighborhood. 

General  Conduct. — The  best  educational  thought  is  urging  the  essential  value  of 
general  conduct  in  the  training  of  the  youth.  Following  the  example  of  the  success- 
ful manufacturers,  the  educators  are  seeking  out  the  "by-products"  of  school 
work  and  they  are  discovering  that  these  "by-products"  have  values  far  beyond 
their  expectations. 

College  and  Professional  Education 

It  is  evident  that  the  welfare  of  ten  million  people,  whose  existence  is  beset  with 
so  many  perplexing  problems,  requires  the  best  education  of  all  types  that  society 
can  provide.  If  college  education  is  of  value  to  any  group,  surely  it  is  to  those 
who  are  to  be  the  leaders  of  the  colored  people.  Only  a  broad-minded  leadership 
with  a  thorough  grasp  of  human  development  can  understand  the  peculiar 
difficulties  resulting  from  the  close  proximity  of  such  widely  varying  races  as  the 
black  and  the  white  people  of  the  southern  states.  All  the  wisdom  of  history  is 
needed  to  enable  the  colored  teachers  and  religious  leaders  to  realize  that  the 
difficulties  of  the  American  Negro  have  been  experienced  wherever  diverse  races 
have  been  compelled  to  live  together,  that  the  obstacles  confronting  the  race  are 
not  insurmountable,  that  other  peoples  have  struggled  through  similar  trials  and 
have  won  a  place  among  the  nations  of  the  earth.  More  and  more  the  leadership 
of  the  race  is  devolving  upon  its  strong  and  capable  men  and  women.  Successful 
leadership  requires  the  best  lessons  of  economics,  sociology,  and  education.  With- 
out such  leadership  for  both  the  white  and  colored  peoples,  race  problems  will 
multiply  and  increase  in  perplexity  and  menace  to  the  nation.  The  race  must 
have  physicians  with  real  skill  and  the  spirit  of  service  to  lead  against  the  insanitary 
conditions  that  are  threatening  not  only  the  colored  people  but  also  their  white 


EDUCATIONAL  ADAPTATIONS  51 

neighbors.  The  Negroes  must  have  religious  teachers  who  can  relate  religion  to 
individual  morals  and  to  the  common  activities  of  the  community.  They  must 
have  teachers  of  secondary  schools  who  have  had  college  training  in  the  modern 
sciences  and  in  the  historical  development  of  civilization.  They  require  teachers 
who  have  a  thorough  knowledge  of  the  historical  progress  of  races  and  an  appre- 
ciation of  the  sufferings  and  disappointments  through  which  the  nations  have 
struggled  to  their  present  position  in  world  affairs.  ^Yith  the  increasing  separation 
of  the  white  and  colored  people  in  America,  the  leadership  of  the  Negroes  is  devolv- 
ing more  and  more  upon  the  capable  men  and  women  of  the  race.  If  college  educa- 
tion is  necessary  to  the  wise  guidance  of  any  group,  surely  the  Negroes  should 
have  the  benefit  of  that  education. 

The  colleges  have  had  an  almost  fatalistic  belief  not  only  in  the  powers  of 
the  college,  but  in  the  Latin  and  Greek  features  of  the  course.  The  majority  of 
them  seem  to  have  more  interest  in  the  traditional  forms  of  education  than  in  the 
adaptation  to  the  needs  of  their  pupils  and  their  community.  Ingenuously  some  of 
their  leaders  have  been  urging  secondary  schools  to  prepare  their  pupils  for  college 
rather  than  for  life.  In  all  this,  to  be  sure,  they  are  following  in  the  footsteps 
of  the  schools  for  white  people.  It  is  only  within  the  past  few  years  that  educa- 
tional leaders  of  the  country  have  begun  to  realize  that  the  college  curriculum  is 
to  be  adapted  to  the  needs  of  the  students;  that  college  activities  are  subject  to 
the  tests  of  service  to  the  community  in  exactly  the  same  degree  as  any  other 
activity  that  seeks  social  support.  There  is  no  doubt  that  many  of  these  institu- 
tions will  respond  to  the  test  when  the  educational  leaders  of  the  race  fully  under- 
stand the  educational  trend. 

The  present  tendency  is  undoubtedly  to  make  the  college  a  strong  institution 
with  ample  facilities  for  effective  work.  With  this  tendency  is  a  demand  that  the 
curriculum  shall  be  broadened  to  give  more  emphasis  to  the  great  sciences  of  modern 
times  both  in  the  entrance  requirements  and  in  the  college  course.  The  traditional 
two  years  of  Latin  and  Greek  are  not  regarded  as  essential  except  to  those  preparing 
for  literary  pursuits.  In  some  of  the  especially  progressive  institutions,  no  foreign 
language  is  required  either  for  entrance  or  for  graduation.  The  University  of 
California  is  one  of  the  most  prominent  examples  of  freedom  from  foreign  language 
requirements.  Similarly  higher  mathematics  are  not  so  much  emphasized  in  the 
college  curriculum.  Calculus,  analytical  geometry,  and  trigonometry  are  being 
limited  to  the  scientific  and  engineering  courses.  Among  the  subjects  that  are 
receiving  increasing  recognition  are  the  physical  sciences,  economics,  sociology, 
history,  and  teacher-training  subjects. 

Race  Elements  in  Education 

Another  phase  of  educational  adaptation  discussed  in  the  report  is  the  pro- 
portion of  white  and  colored  teachers  in  the  schools  for  Negroes.  The  contact 
of  races  both  as  teachers  and  pupils  presents  problems  of  increasing  importance 


52  EDUCATIONAL  ADAPTATIONS 

throughout  the  world  as  international  migrations  multiply.  The  elements  to  be 
considered  are,  first,  that  the  group  to  be  educated  shall  constitute  as  large  a  pro- 
portion of  the  teaching  force  as  possible;  second,  that  ample  contact  with  other 
races  of  different  experience  shall  be  provided  through  well-trained,  sympathetic 
teachers  of  other  countries  and  peoples.  Democracy  demands  the  recognition  of 
both  of  these  elements. 

This  increasing  responsibility  of  the  Negroes  for  their  own  education  is  one 
of  the  hopeful  signs  in  the  progress  of  the  race.  It  is  not  only  sound  democracy 
but  good  pedagogy  to  work  with  a  people  rather  than  for  them.  So  far  as  this 
principle  is  realized  in  the  tendency  to  turn  over  the  colored  schools  to  colored 
teachers,  the  movement  is  sound.  There  is,  however,  considerable  ground  for  the 
apprehension  that  the  rapidity  with  which  white  teachers  have  been  eliminated  is 
too  largely  explained  by  the  desire  to  be  rid  of  an  unpleasant  duty.  The  southern 
people,  impressed  by  the  irritations  sometimes  attending  the  presence  of  white 
teachers  in  colored  schools,  are  seeking  the  easy  solution  by  substituting  colored 
teachers  for  white  teachers.  Many  of  the  colored  leaders,  debarred  from  so  many 
positions  of  influence,  are  naturally  enthusiastic  advocates  of  a  policy  that  enlarges 
their  opportunities.  Northern  philanthropy,  unacquainted  with  the  real  situation, 
is  willing  that  its  gifts  shall  be  expended  with  the  least  possible  responsibility  as  to 
method.  The  result  has  been  the  rapid  change  from  white  to  colored  teachers  in 
both  public  and  private  schools.  The  remarkable  service  of  Dr.  Booker  T.  Wash- 
ington and  many  other  colored  men  and  women  in  the  education  of  their  race  is 
ample  evidence  of  the  value  of  their  contribution.  With  full  appreciation  of 
these  services  and  of  the  principle  of  democracy  involved,  an  increasing  number  of 
thoughtful  men  and  women  question  the  rapidity  and  universality  of  the  change, 
because  it  appears  to  them  to  complete  the  segregation  of  the  Negro  from  the  aid, 
influence,  and  standards  of  white  people. 

The  greatest  contribution  of  the  North  has  been  the  teachers,  sons  and  daughters 
of  the  best  families,  who  have  been  willing  to  work  in  colored  schools  and  to  show 
their  colored  pupils  by  precept  and  example  that  education  is  not  only  head  knowl- 
edge but  the  formation  of  habits  that  guarantee  such  fundamental  virtues  as 
cleanliness,  thoroughness,  perseverance,  honesty,  and  the  essential  elements  of 
family  life.  In  the  conduct  and  management  of  colored  schools,  it  is  to  be  expected 
that  the  South  should  stress  conformity  to  the  community  standards  of  the  white 
people.  The  concern  of  the  Negro  is  naturally  the  preservation  of  his  self-respect 
and  the  increase  of  opportunities  for  employment  and  influence.  The  concern 
of  the  North  is  the  maintenance  of  such  school  activities  as  will  produce  manhood 
and  womanhood  of  good  physique,  discerning  minds,  and  sound  morals.  In 
accordance  with  this  purpose,  northern  people  have  erected  schools  of  all  types 
for  the  Negroes,  including  industrial,  agricultural,  and  collegiate  institutions. 
No  greater  loss  could  befall  the  Negro  schools  than  the  elimination  of  northern 
philanthropy  and  northern  teachers. 


Ill 

SCHOOL  IMPROVEMENT 

One  of  the  most  apparent  defects  of  school  methods  is  the  tendency  to  emphasize 
the  far-away  and  the  abstract  to  the  neglect  of  actual  conditions  near  at  hand. 
Even  in  the  study  of  hygiene,  books  are  read  and  lectures  are  often  given  under 
physical  conditions  that  undermine  health.  The  study  of  the  printed  page  almost 
always  makes  difficult  an  adequate  consideration  of  the  life  in  the  school,  the 
home  and  the  community.  While  this  defect  is  more  or  less  in  all  schools,  it  is 
probable  that  colored  schools  have  been  above  the  average  in  the  frequency  of 
the  defect.  At  any  rate,  a  people  emerging  from  illiteracy  and  poverty  can  ill 
afford  to  be  indifferent  to  the  forces  that  touch  their  daily  life  in  the  school,  the 
home,  the  shop,  or  the  farm.  The  encouragement  of  dormitory  regulation,  ac- 
counting and  records,  gardening  and  simple  manual  training,  and  economy  and  good 
taste  in  buildings  and  grounds  are  all  efforts  to  impress  upon  these  schools  the  vital 
importance  of  the  near  and  the  real.  These  activities  are  some  of  the  educational 
adaptations  which  the  Survey  of  Negro  Education  recommended.  In  accordance 
with  the  constructive  policy  of  the  Phelps-Stokes  Fund,  appropriations  have  been 
made  to  initiate  and  stimulate  these  movements.  Financial  support  has  been  con  - 
tinued  only  until  the  wisdom  of  the  activity  was  demonstrated  to  those  concerned. 

Dormitory  Regulations 

The  investigation  of  Negro  private  and  higher  schools  by  the  staff  of  the  Phelps- 
Stokes  Fund  showed  that  the  rooms  of  the  male  students  at  a  number  of  schools 
were  not  kept  as  they  should  be.  As  a  rule,  conditions  in  the  young  women's 
dormitories  were  fair,  but  the  boys  were  not  required  to  maintain  the  same  stand- 
ard of  cleanliness  and  order  that  was  demanded  of  the  girls.  It  was  found  that 
in  many  schools  the  inspection  of  the  boys'  rooms  was  irregular,  and  that  rules 
were  not  enforced.  In  order  to  remedy  this  situation,  the  Educational  Director 
secured  from  the  Un'ited  States  Military  Academy  at  West  Point  and  the  United 
States  Naval  Academy  at  Annapolis  copies  of  the  dormitory  regulations  in  force 
at  those  institutions.  From  these  rules  a  simplified  set  of  rules  was  compiled, 
suitable  for  use  in  the  colored  schools.     The  rules  are  as  follows : 

Order  of  Importance 

1.  Bed.  Cleanliness  first.  Two  sheets  to  be  changed  at  least  every  week.  The  military 
system  of  making  the  bed  is  recommended — that  is,  folding  each  covering  neatly  at  the  foot 
of  the  bed,  leaving  only  a  sheet  or  other  covering  over  the  mattress. 

2.  Toilet  Facilities  in  Room.    Cleanliness  first.    Waste  water  to  be  emptied  twice  daily. 

3.  Clothing  and  Shoes,  Furniture  and  Books  neatly  arranged  in  accordance  with  laws  of 
sanitation  and  good  taste.    This  is  the  West  Point  rule  on  shoes :    "All  shoes  will  be  aligned 

53 


54  EDUCATIONAL  ADAPTATIONS 

alongside  of  bed,  toes  out,  in  following  order  from  foot  of  bed;  high  shoes,  low  shoes,  slippers. 
They  will  be  kept  dean  and  dusted." 

i.  Floors.     Cleanliness  first.     Swept  daily,  scrubbed  once  every  week  or  oftener. 

5.  Walls.  Clean  and  plain.  Do  not  injure  by  nails.  Very  few  pictures,  and  only  good 
ones,  possibly  only  one  to  a  wall.  Picture  postcards  should  not  be  kept  on  the  walls.  They 
should  be  arranged  like  a  card  catalogue  in  a  box  made  in  the  manual  training  department. 

6.  Windows.  Cleanliness  first.  "Windows  should  be  washed  once  a  month.  Curtains 
simple  or  none  at  all.    Shades  uniform  with  other  windows. 

Inspection  and  Grading 

1.  Inspection.  Rooms  to  be  visited  and  graded  daily  by  one  individual  and  every  week 
by  a  committee.  The  grades  of  the  daily  inspector  to  be  separate  from  the  grades  of  the 
weekly  committee.  In  cases  where  rooms  are  so  numerous  that  more  than  one  committee 
or  more  than  one  daily  inspector  is  required,  it  is  urged  that  each  inspector  and  each  com- 
mittee shall  change  their  field  of  inspection  so  as  to  cover  all  the  rooms  in  the  course  of  the 
term  of  inspection. 

2.  Grading.  Inspectors  and  committee  shall  grade  each  room  on  the  scale  of  10,  allowing 
points  as  follows  for  each  item: 

Bed 3  or       3 

Toilet  facilities  in  room 2 

Clothing,  shoes,  furniture,  and  books 2  2 

Floors 1  2 

Walls 1  2 

Windows 1  1 

Total 10  10 

In  order  to  have  these  rules  adopted  in  the  colored  schools,  and  to  start  a  general 
movement  for  improved  conditions  in  the  dormitories,  prizes  of  $25  each  were 
offered  to  four  schools  in  1915.  These  prizes  were  to  be  used  in  conducting  con- 
tests among  the  male  students.  The  rules  already  set  forth  were  to  be  used,  as 
far  as  possible,  at  each  institution.  The  schools  selected  were  chosen,  not  only 
because  of  the  need  for  improvement,  but  also  as  a  recognition  of  effective  super- 
vision and  general  satisfactory  conditions  in  the  dormitories.  The  following  letter 
to  school  officers  with  a  statement  of  the  purposes  and  plan  shows  the  way  in 
which  the  prizes  were  to  be  awarded: 

"  The  inclosures  explain  a  plan  to  aid  institutions  of  learning  in  the  educational  use  of  their 
dormitories.  The  Phelps-Stokes  Fund  offers  you  $25  to  be  used  as  prizes,  provided  you  are 
willing  to  adopt  the  inclosed  plan  of  inspection.  It  is  understood  that  you  will  be  at  liberty 
to  make  such  changes  in  the  plan  as  the  conditions  in  your  institution  require.  If  you  ac- 
cept this  offer,  kindly  organize  the  inspection  as  soon  as  possible  and  report  to  us." 
Purposes  and  Plans  of  Prizes  Offered 

1.  That  $io  be  given  to to  be  awarded  as  prizes  for 

encouragement  of  cleanliness,  order,  and  good  taste  in  the  rooms  of  the  young  men. 

■2.  That  $15  be  awarded  to  the  occupants  of  the  room  that  holds  the  highest  rank  in  the 
requirements  outlined  in  "Suggestions  for  Care  of  Dormitory  Rooms." 


SCHOOL  IMPROVEMENT  55 

3.  That  $10  be  awarded  to  the  occupants  of  the  room  that  shows  the  greatest  improve- 
ment between  this  and  commencement  season. 

4.  That  the  prizes  be  awarded  at  commencement  time  by  the  most  prominent  man  or 
woman  available  at  the  time  of  the  award. 

5.  It  is  suggested  that  the  person  selected  to  give  the  prize  be  a  broad-minded  physician 
who  can  show  the  relation  of  room  care  not  only  to  health  but  also  to  real  culture  and  the  care 
of  the  home. 

6.  That  the  awarding  of  the  prize  and  its  purpose  be  given  such  publicity  as  will 
impress  other  institutions  with  the  vital  importance  of  room  care  in  the  educational  develop- 
ment of  the  youth. 

The  extracts  from  replies  show  the  interest  manifested  by  the  presidents  of  the 
schools,  and  their  estimates  of  the  value  of  the  contests : 

"The  system  of  inspection  that  was  introduced  through  you  has  been  very  carefully 
adhered  to  under  the  immediate  direction  of  Mr.  Page.  I  feel  that  it  has  helped  very  much  in 
improving  the  general  conditions  of  our  rooms  and  I  also  feel  that  the  influence  will  go  out 
beyond  our  college  confines  to  the  homes  of  our  students." 

"One  of  the  most  noted  surgeons  of  this  city  made  an  excellent  address  in  presenting  the 
gift  from  the  Stokes-Phelps  Fund  to  the  three  boys.  I  sincerely  hope  that  we  may  have  a 
continuance  of  your  assistance  in  this  matter." 

"We  were  indeed  glad  to  have  the  U.  S.  Commissioner  of  Education  make  the  presenta- 
tion.    I  feel  quite  sure  that  the  benefit  to  the  school  will  be  lasting." 

At  Talladega  College,  the  contest  was  so  successful,  and  such  interest  was 
manifested,  that  the  following  year  the  Phelps-Stokes  Fund  offered  prizes  for  both 
girls  and  boys  at  that  institution. 

The  publicity  given  to  the  contests,  and  the  prominence  given  the  awarding 
of  the  prizes  at  school  commencements,  is  illustrated  by  the  clipping  from  one  of 
the  leading  papers  of  Tennessee : 

"One  of  the  pleasing  and  special  features  of  the  commencement  was  the  awarding  of 
prizes,  particularly  the  award  of  twenty-five  dollars  in  cash,  fifteen  dollars  divided  equally 
between  Agelastus  Simpson,  of  Chattanooga,  and  Willis  Brown,  of  Gary,  W.  Va.;  ten  dollars 
between  Walter  Owens,  of  Nashville,  and  Philip  Brown,  of  Monrovia.  Africa.  The  latter 
is  a  native  of  Africa,  who  came  to  this  country  last  August,  having  worked  his  way  to  New 
York.  This  money  was  appropriated  by  the  Phelps-Stokes  Fund  and  distributed  under  the 
direction  of  the  Bureau  of  Education  for  the  improvement  of  boys'  dormitories  in  colored 
colleges.  The  young  men  were  called  to  the  stage  when  Dr.  P.  L.  Henderson,  in  an  able 
address  on  neatness,  cleanliness  and  order,  and  the  necessity  of  forming  good  habits  in  the 
care  of  rooms,  presented  the  prizes." 

Contests  have  been  held  at  twenty-nine  schools.  The  schools  where  contests 
have  been  held  and  prizes  awarded  are  as  follows : 

Alabama : 

Talladega  College,  Talladega. 


56  EDUCATIONAL  ADAPTATIONS 

Arkansas: 

Arkansas  Baptist  College,  Argenta. 

Branch  Normal  College,  Pine  Bluff. 

Philander  Smith  College,  Little  Rock. 

Shorter  College,  Little  Rock. 
District  of  Columbia: 

Howard  University,  Washington,  D.  C. 

Florida  : 

Florida  Agricultural  and  Mechanical  College,  Tallahassee. 

Georgia: 

Clark  University,  Atlanta. 

Louisiana  : 

New  Orleans  College,  New  Orleans. 
Straight  College,  New  Orleans. 

Maryland: 

Princess  Anne  Academy,  Princess  Anne. 

Mississippi  : 

Rust  College,  Holly  Springs. 

North  Carolina: 

Bennett  College,  Greensboro. 
Negro  Technical  College,  Greensboro. 
St.  Augustine  School,  Raleigh. 
Shaw  University,  Raleigh. 

South  Carolina: 

Benedict  College,  Columbia. 

State  Colored  Normal,  Industrial,  Agricultural,  and  Mechanical  College,  Orange- 
burg. 

Tennessee: 

Fisk  University,  Nashville. 

Knoxville  College,  Knoxville. 

Lane  College,  Jackson. 

Morristown  Normal  and  Industrial  College,  Morristown. 

Tennessee  Agricultural  and  Industrial  State  Normal  School,  Nashville. 

Texas: 

Prairie  View  Normal  and  Industrial  College,  Prairie  View. 
Texas  College,  Tyler. 

Virginia: 

St.  Paul  Normal  and  Industrial  Institute,  Lawrenceville. 
Virginia  Normal  and  Industrial  Institute,  Petersburg. 

West  Virginia: 

West  Virginia  Collegiate  Institute,  Institute. 
Christiansburg  Industrial  Institute,  Christiansburg. 


SCHOOL  IMPROVEMENT  57 

Accounting  and  Records 

Complete  financial  records  are  as  important  for  an  educational  institution  as 
they  are  for  a  business  enterprise.  Too  frequently  school  officials  have  considered 
the  keeping  of  such  records  an  unimportant  part  of  the  work  of  the  school.  Present- 
day  standards  of  economy,  efficiency,  and  honesty,  however,  require  that  the 
school  be  able  at  any  time  to  present  an  accurate  statement  of  its  financial  affairs. 
No  school  can  furnish  such  a  statement  without  proper  accounts.  Such  accounts 
were  of  special  importance  to  the  schools  considered  in  the  report,  which  depend 
so  largely  for  their  support  upon  private  benefactions. 

In  the  efforts  to  combine  instruction  in  academic  subjects  with  training  in 
agriculture  and  the  various  trades,  many  of  these  schools  have  developed  so  com- 
plex an  organization  that  the  proper  keeping  of  their  accounts  requires  expert 
bookkeepers.  Such  bookkeepers  cannot  always  be  obtained,  and  in  many  instances 
funds  are  not  available  to  offer  them  adequate  compensation. 

Most  of  the  schools  realize  the  importance  of  good  accounting  methods  and 
have  attacked  the  problem  with  resolution  and  determination.  Some  institutions, 
however,  including  a  few  of  the  larger  and  many  of  the  smaller  schools,  make  no 
effort  to  keep  proper  books.  Frequently  the  only  financial  records  of  the  school 
are  to  be  found  in  the  personal  memoranda  of  the  principal.  Occasionally  the 
financial  responsibility  is  divided  among  several  persons,  with  the  result  that 
complete  accounts  are  not  forthcoming  for  the  whole  school.  This  lack  of  central- 
ization is  most  pronounced  in  the  State  and  land-grant  schools  and  in  the  schools 
under  colored  religious  denominations.  In  these  schools  the  treasurer  usually 
lives  away  from  the  school  campus  and  handles  only  part  of  the  funds.  It  has  been 
found  also  that  the  principal  of  the  school  conducts  the  boarding  department  as 
a  private  venture,  although  the  products  of  the  farm  and  the  school  equipment  are 
used  with  perhaps  only  a  nominal  charge. 

The  more  important  church  boards  provide  certain  forms  and  require  periodic 
reports.  They  have  not,  however,  provided  adequate  methods  of  controlling  the 
students'  accounts,  or  of  recording  the  operating  results  of  the  boarding,  agri- 
cultural, and  industrial  departments.  Property  records  are  equally  deficient. 
The  investigation  revealed  schools  that  own  large  amounts  of  land,  the  dimensions 
and  extent  of  which  are  known  only  to  the  president  of  the  school.  Usually  the 
president  would  state  off  hand  the  amount  and  value  of  the  land,  or  would  refer 
to  the  copies  of  deeds  which  were  kept  among  his  private  papers.  Inventories 
of  buildings  and  movable  equipment  were  nearly  always  lacking,  and  several  schools 
came  under  observation  which  had  lost  large  sums  of  money  in  insurance  indemnity 
because  they  could  not  produce  inventories  to  prove  their  losses. 

While  dishonesty  could  be  proved  in  but  few  instances,  the  accounts  and 
records  of  many  schools  were  found  to  be  so  inadequate  as  to  make  them  liable  to 
the  charge  of  gross  inefficiency  in  the  administration  of  financial  resources  and 
student  activities. 


58  EDUCATIONAL  ADAPTATIONS 

It  was  because  of  these  findings  that  the  Phelps-Stokes  Fund  arranged  with  a 
New  York  firm  of  accountants  to  assist  certain  of  the  schools  in  preparing  financial 
statements  and  in  inaugurating  a  system  of  accounts  suited  to  the  needs  of  the  par- 
ticular institution.  As  the  need  of  such  help  was  found  to  be  very  general,  it 
seemed  wise  to  assign  one  of  the  members  of  the  staff  to  undertake  this 
work  for  any  of  the  Negro  schools  which  should  desire  his  services.  Before  his 
work  was  well  started,  however,  the  Government  recognized  his  ability  as  an 
accountant  and  took  him  for  work  that  had  been  made  necessary  by  the  war. 
Another  man  was  obtained  who  had  had  experience  in  school  accounting  in  one 
of  the  Negro  schools  to  undertake  the  work  of  installing  better  systems  of  account- 
ing. He  spent  some  time  working  with  the  auditors  of  one  of  the  New  York  firms 
which  had  charge  of  the  accounts  of  a  number  of  educational  institutions,  and  he 
also  spent  some  time  in  the  office  of  the  auditor  of  the  University  of  Chicago. 
He  was  about  to  begin  his  work  when  the  War  Department  required  his  services 
for  special  work  in  connection  with  the  Student  Officers  Training  Corps  as  an 
inspector.  In  January,  1919,  he  returned  to  the  office  of  the  Phelps-Stokes  Fund 
in  Washington  and  began  his  work. 

Letters  were  sent  out  to  various  schools  that  had  expressed  a  desire  to  im- 
prove their  methods  of  recording  financial  transactions.  Responses  were  received 
from  a  number  that  were  visited,  and  after  a  careful  survey  of  their  needs  was 
completed  a  system  which  could  be  used  with  slight  adaptations  in  all  of  them  was 
worked  out.  A  more  or  less  uniform  system  of  accounting  to  be  used  in  schools 
of  the  same  type  is  an  advantage.  It  makes  it  possible  for  the  necessary  books 
to  be  purchased  at  less  cost  to  the  institution,  and  it  produces  a  group  of  book- 
keepers who  can  take  up  the  work  of  a  school  without  loss  of  time  because  the  system 
is  a  familiar  one.  It  also  gives  a  uniform  system  of  student  records  by  which 
students  going  from  one  school  to  another  can  be  carefully  recorded.  Some  of  the 
schools  were  visited  at  the  request  of  Dr.  James  H.  Dillard  of  the  Jeanes  Fund 
and  the  Slater  Board. 

As  a  preliminary  to  this  work  a  six-weeks  course  in  school  accounting  was  offered 
by  Hampton  Institute  as  a  part  of  the  summer  school  curriculum.  The  class 
was  in  charge  of  the  accountant  of  the  Phelps-Stokes  Fund,  assisted  by  an  account- 
ant from  the  treasurer's  office  of  Tuskegee  Institute.  The  class  was  small,  but  the 
idea  spread  through  the  whole  student  body  and  has  borne  fruit  in  an  added 
interest  in  the  work  and  a  desire  to  know  about  the  possibilities  and  the  cost  of 
installing  new  systems  in  a  number  of  schools.  When  the  schools  opened  in  the 
fall  of  1919,  six  institutions  had  begun  installing  new  systems  of  accounts  under 
the  direction  of  the  Phelps-Stokes  agent,  and  seven  more  schools  were  about  to 
complete  the  arrangements  for  the  work.  Before  the  school  year  ends  this  number 
will  undoubtedly  have  doubled.  For  the  first  year  it  will  be  necessary  to  watch 
the  work  very  carefully,  as  systematic  habits  in  a  matter  of  this  sort  are  not  easily 
acquired;  but  if  the  enthusiasm  of  the  beginning  is  any  criterion,  the  work  will 
succeed. 


SCHOOL  IMPROVEMENT  59 

Economy  and  Good  Taste  in  Buildings  and  Grounds 

No  educational  institutions  are  more  urgently  in  need  of  the  intelligent  applica- 
tion of  the  principles  of  sound  building  than  the  private  and  higher  schools  for 
Negroes  in  the  United  States.  The  influence  of  good  design,  good  construction 
and  attractive  surroundings  upon  character  and  citizenship  is  as  important  in  the 
school  as  in  the  home;  and  the  reflex  action  of  the  school  upon  the  home  is  greater 
and  more  far-reaching  than  is  generally  understood.  While  the  waste  in  con- 
struction is  probably  not  much  greater  than  with  other  groups  of  schools,  the  need 
for  funds  is  far  more  pressing. 

The  watchwords  of  American  school-building  policy  have  been  said  to  be: 
"Education,  economy,  safety,  health,  and  happiness."  To  these  may  well  be 
added  beauty  and  appropriateness.  It  is  obviously  important  that  the  school 
plant  should  be  in  harmony  with  all  the  aims  of  educational  endeavor  and  that 
classroom  theory  should,  as  far  as  possible,  be  illustrated  by  the  general  form  and 
condition  of  the  buildings  and  grounds.  Clearly  a  study  of  hygienic  laws,  economy, 
and  design  will  be  of  little  value  if  the  school  plant  has  been  constructed  in  violation 
of  the  laws  of  health,  good  business,  and  good  taste. 

The  study  of  the  buildings  and  grounds  of  typical  schools  for  colored  people 
was  made  under  the  supervision  of  I.  N.  Phelps  Stokes,  president  of  the  Phelps- 
Stokes  Fund  trustees,  upon  whose  advice  the  services  of  A.  H.  Albertson  were 
secured  to  make  a  personal  study  of  a  considerable  number  of  typical  institutions 
widely  distributed  through  the  southern  states.  Mr.  Albertson  brought  to  the 
study  not  only  the  skill  of  a  professional  architect,  but  also  varied  experience  in 
actual  building  operations  and  a  thorough  sympathy  with  the  struggling  efforts 
to  educate  a  people  limited  in  many  ways. 

The  following  axioms  of  building  were  formulated  for  the  use  of  those  in  charge 
of  school  construction : 

1.  Selection  of  site. — In  selecting  a  site  watch  the  sun,  the  rain,  the  wind,  the  view.  The 
direction  of  the  sun  will  locate  the  heat  and  the  shade;  the  run-off  of  the  rain  will  show  the 
slope  and  the  nature  of  the  soil;  and  the  direction  of  the  wind  will  indicate  the  cool  and  cold 
exposures. 

2.  General  plan  of  grounds. — Evolve  and  adopt  a  general  plan  for  future  extension.  Accept 
suggestions  offered  by  existing  natural  features  and  face  the  buildings  inward  and  toward 
each  other  unless,  owing  to  the  excessive  slope  of  the  land  or  to  other  considerations,  such  an 
arrangement  is  impracticable.  A  plan  like  this  will  save  time,  trouble,  and  expense  and  will 
results  in  a  more  orderly  and  attractive  appearance. 

3.  When  building,  build  well. — Cheap  construction  is  not  usually  economical  construction. 
It  is  better  economy  to  construct  buildings  small,  durable,  and  ready  for  extension  than  to 
build  commodiously  and  cheaply.  It  is  better  to  omit  useless  towers,  spires,  galvanized  iron 
embellishments,  etc.,  than  to  economize  on  the  foundations  or  the  strength  and  durability 
of  the  building.    It  is  better  to  build  solidly  of  frame  than  cheaply  of  brick.    Frame  is  generally 


60  EDUCATIONAL  ADAPTATIONS 

more  attractive  than  brick  and  less  expensive.     The  frame  Colonial  houses  have  lasted  a 
hundred  years  or  more. 

-1.  Build  low. — When  land  is  available,  have  the  buildings  low — not  more  than  three 
stories  in  brick,  two  stories  in  wood — and  if  possible,  do  not  use  the  basement  for  academic 
purposes. 

5.  The  best  advice  is  the  cheapest. — It  will  pay  in  the  end  to  consult  a  good  architect  before 
building,  and  a  good  mechanical  engineer  before  installing  a  central  power  plant.  School 
built  lings  have  become  highly  specialized;  the  scientific  problems  connected  with  them  and 
their  proper  and  economic  design  and  construction  require  a  high  order  of  professional  train- 
ing and  experience. 

6.  Simple  appearance. — School  buildings  are  not  institutions  of  confinement,  neither  are 
they  museums  of  architecture.  The  appearance  should  be  inviting,  cheerful,  more  domestic 
than  institutional,  and  should  be  an  indication  and  an  outgrowth  of  the  inner  uses. 

7.  Use  materials  according  to  their  nature. — It  is  better  to  build  plainly  of  good  materials 
than  to  build  elaborately  with  imitations.  It  is  better  to  build  of  wood  than  to  imitate  brick- 
work with  pressed  sheets  of  tin,  or  stone  with  rough  cast  concrete.  Don't  construct  the 
ornament,  ornament  the  construction. 

8.  Classrooms  and  dormitorji  rooms. — Rooms  with  high  ceilings  are  expensive  to  build, 
expensive  to  heat  and  light,  and  necessitate  longer  stairs  and  more  building  to  contain  them. 
Natural  light  for  classrooms  should  be  admitted  on  the  left  side  only,  the  windows  should  be 
close  to  the  ceiling,  and  the  glass  about  equal  in  area  to  20  per  cent  of  the  floor  area,  varying 
according  to  latitude.  The  color  of  walls  should  be  pale;  a  shade  of  light  grayish  buff  is  ex- 
cellent. In  dormitory  rooms  the  closets  should  be  open  at  the  top  or  bottom,  or  both;  and  it 
is  suggested  that  the  transoms  over  the  entrance  door  be  fitted  with  fixed  slats  for  ventila- 
tion. 

The  survey  and  the  recommendations  in  the  report  are  known  to  have  in- 
fluenced a  number  of  institutions.  One  of  the  most  immediate  of  these  results 
appeared  in  a  college  located  in  the  open  suburbs  of  a  small  city.  This  institution 
had  planned  to  build  a  girls'  dormitory  four  and  one  half  stories  high,  and  compara- 
tively small  on  the  ground,  making  the  building  look  high  and  pinched,  after  the 
style  of  small  city  office  buildings  of  some  years  ago.  It  was  uninviting,  undo- 
mestic,  and  somewhat  overloaded  with  architectural  forms.  The  suggestion  was 
offered,  and  accepted,  that  the  building  should  be  made  lower,  simpler,  and  larger 
on  the  ground.  The  result  is  noteworthy — a  building  more  attractive,  more 
sincere,  less  expensive,  and  distinctly  suitable  for  a  girls'  dormitory. 

Gardening  and  Simple  Manual  Training 

The  recommendation  most  frequently  made  to  the  schools  observed  was  the 
introduction  of  gardening  and  simple  manual  training.  Such  was  the  frequency  of 
this  exhortation  as  to  raise  the  apprehension  lest  some  writer  or  orator  should 
heap  ridicule  upon  the  whole  report  because  of  its  stress  upon  activities  whose 
economic  and  educational  values  had  not  then  been  recognized  as  vital  contribu- 


SCHOOL  IMPROVEMENT  61 

tions  to  the  thrift  movements  of  the  World  War.  Two  newspaper  reporters  were 
the  first  to  recognize  these  recommendations  as  forerunners  of  the  great  gardening 
campaigns  that  have  since  become  international.  One  of  them  writing  in  the  New 
York  Evening  Post,  said:  "The  gardening  recommendation  is  not  an  effort  to  climb 
aboard  a  popular  movement,  for  the  report  was  in  the  hands  of  the  printer  while 
the  flapping  clothes  still  held  sway  in  the  backyards."  The  other  observed, 
through  the  columns  of  the  Richmond  News  Leader:  "Although  the  manuscript 
went  to  the  printer  long  before  a  single  clod  of  virgin  back-yard  soil  had  been  turned 
in  the  present  campaign  for  more  food  production,  the  investigation  urged  that 
colored  boys  and  girls  should  be  well  drilled  in  the  theory  and  practice  of  gardening." 

Before  war  necessities  convinced  the  state  and  national  governments  of  the 
wisdom  of  spending  millions  in  the  encouragement  of  school  and  home  gardening 
and  of  other  forms  of  thrift  movements,  the  Phelps-Stokes  Fund  not  only  recom- 
mended these  activities,  but  appropriated  small  sums  to  initiate  gardening  in  a 
number  of  Negro  schools  in  the  southern  states. 

Simple  manual  training  was  likewise  urged  and  encouraged.  Modern  educa- 
tional practice  recognizes  without  argument  not  only  the  economic  but  also  the 
educational  value  of  hand  training.  The  economic  value  to  the  colored  people  is 
emphasized  by  the  comparative  poverty  of  the  race,  while  the  educational  result 
is  even  more  necessary  for  the  Negro  than  for  the  white,  since  the  Negro's  highly 
emotional  nature  requires  for  balance  as  much  as  possible  of  the  concrete  and 
definite.  Observation  indicates  the  importance  of  simplicity  in  the  manual  courses 
and  the  application  of  the  lessons  learned  in  the  care  of  the  school  plant  and  in  the 
necessary  activities  of  the  institution.  Lessons  in  woodwork  increase  in  effec- 
tiveness when  they  are  applied  to  the  repair  of  buildings.  Domestic  science  be- 
comes real  when  the  school  kitchen  is  used  as  a  laboratory  and  the  dormitories 
are  supervised  according  to  the  classroom  theory. 

School  Appropriations 

The  annual  appropriations  of  the  Phelps-Stokes  Fund  have  been  made  for 
the  improvements  described  above  or  for  some  special  purpose  requiring  immediate 
aid.  The  sums  appropriated  have  usually  ranged  from  $100  to  $500.  In  a  few 
instances  as  much  as  $1,000  has  been  voted.  The  policy  of  the  Fund  is  not  to 
continue  the  gifts  indefinitely,  but  rather  to  establish  the  work  and  secure  public 
aid  for  permanent  support. 

The  institutions  to  which  appropriations  have  been  made  during  the  past  ten 
years  are  listed  below.  In  all  there  are  52  different  schools  or  undertakings. 
While  the  majority  of  the  institutions  are  for  Negroes,  one  institution  for  American 
Indians,  now  known  as  the  American  Institute  for  Indians,  was  formerly  the  Roe 
Indian  Institute.  Two  on  the  list  are  white  schools,  the  Berry  School,  at  Rome, 
Ga.,  and  the  Mt.  Hermon  School  for  Boys,  in  Northfield,  Mass. 


69 


EDUCATIONAL  ADAPTATIONS 


Alabama: 

Tuskegee  Institute. 

Peoples'  Village  School,  Mt.  Meigs. 

Superintendent  of  Schools,  Macon 

County. 
Talladega  College. 
Montgomery  Industrial  School. 
Calhoun  School. 
Mobile  County  Training  School. 

Arkansas  : 

Arkansas  Baptist  College. 

District  of  Columbia: 

National  Training  School  for 
Women  and  Girls. 

Florida  : 

Daytona  Educational  and  Indus- 
trial School. 
Florida  Baptist  Academy. 
Robert  Hungerford  School. 

Georgia: 

Americus  Institute. 
Atlanta  University. 
Morehouse  College. 
Ft.  Valley  High  and  Industrial 

School. 
Haines  Institute,  Augusta. 
Model  Training  School.  Athens. 
Thayer  Home,  Atlanta. 
Berry  School,  Rome. 

Kansas  : 

Roe  Indian  Institute. 

Kentucky  : 

Lincoln  Institute,  Lincoln  Ridge. 

Louisiana  : 

Coleman  College. 


Sabine  Normal  and  Industrial  In- 
stitute. 
Peck  Home,  New  Orleans. 
Colored  Industrial  Home.  New  Orleans' 

Massachusetts  : 

Mt.  Hermon  School  for  Boys. 

Mississippi  : 

Jackson  College. 

Prentiss  Normal  and  Industrial 
Institute. 
North  Carolina: 

Parmele  Institute. 

Slater  Industrial  and  Normal  School. 

Pamlico  County. 

Charlotte  Schools  (gardening). 

Palmer  Memorial  Institute. 

Bertie  County  (school  building). 

Waters  Normal  Institute. 

Pitt  County  Training  School. 

Superintendent  of  Schools,  Raleigh. 

Whitesville  School. 
South  Carolina: 

Penn  Colored  School. 

Bettis  Academy,  Trenton. 

Benedict  College. 
Tennessee: 

Fisk  University. 

Lane  College. 

Morris  town  College. 

Chattanooga  Public  Schools. 
Texas  : 

Wiley  University. 

Virginia: 

Hampton  Institute. 
Manassas  Industrial  School. 
Bishop  Payne  Divinity  School. 


IV 

COOPERATION    WITH    EDUCATIONAL    AND    RELIGIOUS 

AGENCIES 

Some  of  the  most  important  activities  of  the  Phelps-Stokes  Fund  are  main- 
tained through  cooperation  with  other  agencies,  especially  the  United  States 
Bureau  of  Education,  the  Boy  Scouts  of  America,  the  Southern  Sociological 
Congress,  Chambers  of  Commerce,  International  Sunday  School  Association, 
trustees  of  educational  institutions,  and  public  school  officers.  The  essential 
condition  of  all  cooperation  has  been  that  the  work  undertaken  shall  be  con- 
structive in  character.  Destructive  criticism,  mere  complaint,  propaganda 
without  a  program  of  improvement  are  contrary  to  the  purposes  and  spirit  of 
the  Fund.  When  it  has  been  necessary  to  present  mismanagement,  discrimina- 
tions, and  injustices,  every  effort  has  been  made  to  discover  the  elements  that  have 
brought  about  the  condition.  This  policy  is  illustrated  both  in  the  description 
of  the  weaknesses  of  educational  institutions  and  in  the  educational  discriminations 
of  public  school  systems.  Wherever  possible  schools  have  been  shown  how  to 
improve  rather  than  condemned  for  existing  conditions.  The  Negro  race  has  been 
praised  for  its  progress  to  date  and  then  urged  on  to  the  next  milestone  rather 
than  ridiculed  for  its  backwardness.  Similarly  public  school  officials  are  judged 
according  to  the  tendency  to  increase  or  decrease  school  facilities  for  Negroes, 
and  then  urged  to  provide  adequate  accommodations  so  that  the  Negroes  may 
become  efficient  citizens  not  only  of  the  state  but  also  of  the  United  States. 

The  cooperative  relationship  between  the  Fund  and  the  United  States  Bureau 
of  Education  was  most  satisfactory.  From  January  1,  1913,  to  July  1,  1919, 
the  Fund  paid  the  salaries  and  traveling  expenses  of  the  workers  in  the  Division 
of  Racial  Groups.  This  Division  not  only  conducted  the  survey  of  Negro  Educa- 
tion described  elsewhere,  but  also  initiated  a  number  of  school  improvements  in 
different  states.  It  was  a  sort  of  a  clearing-house  for  many  educational  move- 
ments in  behalf  of  the  Negroes.  An  extensive  correspondence  was  conducted 
with  persons  interested  in  the  condition  of  the  Negro  and  in  his  relation  to  the 
white  people  of  the  country.  A  considerable  number  of  philanthropic  persons 
applied  to  the  Division  for  information  as  to  the  worthiness  and  effectiveness  of 
Negro  schools  applying  for  aid.  The  agents  of  the  Fund  assisted  in  all  educational 
surveys  conducted  by  the  Bureau  in  the  southern  states. 

The  demands  for  information  and  advice  were  greatly  increased  by  the  rapid 
migration  to  the  North  and  by  the  increased  friction  between  the  races  during 
the  war  and  the  reconstruction  period.  Up  to  the  entrance  of  the  United  States 
into  the  war  in  1917,  the  Division  of  Racial  Groups  of  the  Bureau  of  Education 
was  the  only  Federal  agency  giving  any  special  attention  to  the  Negro  problem 

63 


64  EDUCATIONAL  ADAPTATIONS 

in  the  United  States.  The  activities  of  the  Negro  farm-demonstration  agents  of 
the  Department  of  Agriculture  are  in  a  sense  a  notable  exception  to  this  statement. 
During  the  war,  the  War  Department  and  the  Labor  Department  appointed 
colored  men  to  act  as  advisers  on  race  questions  in  those  departments.  The 
War  Department  discontinued  the  provision  for  a  colored  adviser  after  the 
demobilization  of  Negro  soldiers.  Owing  to  the  failure  of  Congress  to  make 
an  appropriation  for  the  Negro  Division  of  the  Labor  Department,  the  work  is 
now  limited  to  the  part-time  activities  of  one  man.  The  Division  of  Racial 
Groups  was  discontinued  in  the  Bureau  of  Education  July  1,  1919,  in  accordance 
with  an  act  of  Congress  passed  in  1917  forbidding  cooperation  of  private  agencies 
with  the  Federal  Government  after  June  30,  1919.  It  is  most  unfortunate  that 
no  provision  has  been  made  to  continue  the  bureau's  activities  in  Negro  educa- 
tion. The  racial  situation  was  never  more  acute  than  during  these  reconstruction 
months.  The  National  Government  has  every  reason  to  maintain  a  group  of 
workers  whose  duty  it  shall  be  to  know  the  educational  provisions  for  the  Negroes 
and  to  develop  correlation  and  cooperation  between  the  states  for  the  improve- 
ment of  the  Negroes  in  every  part  of  the  country. 

Conference  of  Educational  Board's  Representatives 

The  Fund  has  been  actively  interested  in  the  Conference  of  Educational  Boards, 
Representatives.  In  1913  Dr.  James  H.  Dillard,  of  the  Slater  and  Jeanes  Funds, 
called  a  meeting  of  the  representatives  of  church  boards  of  education  for  the 
purpose  of  discussing  ways  and  means  of  avoiding  duplication  of  effort  among 
the  schools  owned  by  these  Boards.  At  this  conference  it  was  agreed  that  meet- 
ings would  be  held  semiannually.  The  presiding  officer  and  place  of  meeting  are 
decided  at  each  conference.  The  important  topics  that  have  been  discussed  are 
the  adaptation  of  school  curriculum  to  the  needs  of  the  pupils  and  the  community, 
the  selection  of  institutional  names  that  are  descriptive  of  the  grade  and  character 
of  work  done,  the  elimination  of  schools  that  are  duplicating  the  work  of  other 
public  or  private  institutions,  and  the  development  of  cooperation  in  all  educa- 
tional efforts.  The  educational  secretary  of  the  Fund  has  been  the  secretary  of 
the  Conference  since  1914. 

Probation  Officers  in  Southern  Cities 

One  of  the  interesting  experiments  made  by  the  Fund  was  cooperation  with 
southern  cities  in  maintaining  Negro  probation  officers  to  supervise  Negro  offenders. 
The  plan  first  considered  was  to  assist  the  associated  charities  of  certain  cities  to 
maintain  Negro  workers  who  would  help  both  to  interpret  the  living  conditions  of 
Negroes  to  the  white  people  and  also  assist  the  Negroes  to  establish  friendly 
relationship  with  the  white  people.  Investigation  soon  revealed  the  fact  that 
southern   cities  are  much  more  concerned  with  Negro  offenders  than  with  Negro 


COOPERATION  WITH  OTHER  AGENCIES  65 

paupers.     The  South  has  only  recently  begun  to  adopt  the  methods  of  organized 
charities  in  dealing  either  with  white  or  colored  people. 

Through  the  aid  of  influential  citizens  of  Atlanta  and  especially  the  juvenile 
court  judge,  the  court  appointed  a  well-trained  colored  man  as  probation  officer. 
This  officer  worked  under  the  direction  of  a  committee  of  white  and  colored 
citizens.  The  results  were  very  satisfactory.  Under  the  wise  and  sympathetic 
direction  of  the  officer  and  the  advisory  committee,  the  offenders  developed  into 
good  citizens  or  proved  not  to  be  offenders  but  the  unfortunate  victims  of  circum- 
stances, conditions  breeding  offenders  and  even  criminals  were  abolished,  and, 
most  important  of  all,  the  friendly  cooperation  of  white  and  colored  citizens  in 
behalf  of  the  submerged  class  developed  a  mutual  respect  and  sympathy  to  deal 
with  other  and  more  serious  difficulties  that  might  develop  between  the  races. 
The  public  authorities  of  Atlanta  were  so  impressed  with  the  experiment  as  to 
provide  the  necessary  funds  to  continue  the  financial  support  necessary  after  two 
years'  subsidy  from  the  Phelps-Stokes  Fund.  Experiments  in  two  other  cities 
indicated  the  possibility  of  extending  the  plan  wherever  colored  probation  officers 
are  not  employed.  While  the  plan  is  being  urged  by  other  organizations,  there  is 
need  for  more  vigorous  action  to  establish  the  required  number  of  officers. 

Training  of  Rural  Ministers 

Another  important  interest  of  the  Fund  is  the  encouragement  of  activities  for 
the  training  of  rural  ministers.  According  to  the  United  States  Census  there 
were  17,495  Negro  ministers  in  1910.  While  there  are  many  Negro  ministers  of 
high  character  and  large  vision  even  among  those  who  have  but  a  limited  knowledge 
of  books,  it  is  well  known  that  the  qualifications  of  a  large  number  of  colored 
ministers  are  very  unsatisfactory.  The  Negroes  are  relatively  more  dependent  on 
their  churches  than  the  white  people.  The  Negro  minister  has  been  the  leader 
not  only  in  religious  affairs  but  in  economic  and  social  activities.  Some  of  the 
most  interesting  and  helpful  personalities  of  the  colored  people  have  been  unlettered 
preachers  who  acquired  their  ideas  of  life  from  the  cultured  white  people  with 
whom  they  lived  as  slaves.  Of  such  was  the  late  Bishop  Grant  of  the  African 
Methodist  Church,  who  delighted  to  tell  of  his  boyhood  days  in  his  master's  home. 
The  places  of  these  leaders  are  gradually  being  filled  by  young  colored  men  who 
have  received  their  standards  from  a  group  of  northern  teachers  of  refinement  and 
sterling  character,  but  unfortunately  colored  ministers  of  this  type  are  not  yet 
very  numerous. 

Conditions  call  for  vigorous  action  on  the  part  of  the  colored  people  and  their 
friends.  The  present  attendance  of  fewer  than  500  students  in  the  religious  training 
departments  of  the  colored  schools  is  not  sufficient.  The  number  of  schools 
offering  religious  training  should  be  increased.  Not  only  will  there  have  to  be 
more  institutions  of  college  grade,  but  some  schools  of  secondary  grade  should  be 
enlisted  in  the  work  of  preparing  ministers.     Even  more  important  than   the 


66  EDUCATIONAL  ADAPTATIONS 

increase  in  the  output  of  theological  students  is  the  adaptation  of  the  course  of 
study  to  fit  the  ministers  to  their  tasks.  The  first  requisite  of  these  schools  should 
be  a  plan  of  work  that  develops  character.  The  most  effective  way  to  realize 
this  is  to  insist  on  the  formation  of  habits  of  order  and  punctuality  and  industry. 
Next  to  a  thorough  knowledge  of  the  English  Bible  should  be  a  knowledge  of  the 
laws  of  health.  For  the  rural  minister  there  should  be  an  effective  course  in 
rural  economics  and  a  practical  knowledge  of  gardening. 

Miss  Olivia  Phelps  Stokes  showed  her  interest  in  this  problem  several  years  ago 
by  her  gift  of  Phelps  Hall  to  Tuskegee  Institute.  This  building  was  erected  to  be 
the  home  and  school  of  young  men  preparing  for  the  ministry.  The  plan  has  been 
to  arrange  the  instruction  so  as  to  fit  the  men  to  deal  intelligently  with  rural 
conditions.  While  the  graduates  are  far  better  prepared  than  the  majority  of  colored 
ministers,  their  number  is  small. 

A  more  recent  effort  to  deal  with  this  problem  is  the  plan  directed  by  Dr. 
Dillard  whereby  rural  ministers  are  invited  to  attend  a  summer  school  for  one 
week.  At  these  schools  the  ministers  receive  instruction  not  only  in  such  technical 
matters  as  sermon  preparation  and  Bible  interpretation,  but  also  in  sanitation 
and  hygiene,  good  roads  and  crop  production.  The  Phelps-Stokes  Fund  has 
supplemented  the  expenses  of  these  schools  at  Hampton  Institute  and  Bettis 
Academy. 

International  Sunday  School  Association 

The  Fund  has  made  appropriations  to  the  work  of  the  International  Sunday 
School  Association  in  behalf  of  Negroes.  This  Association  maintains  one  field 
worker  who  travels  among  colored  schools  organizing  "Sunday  School  teacher 
training  classes"  and  arousing  interest  in  improved  methods  of  teaching  the  Bible. 
Through  his  efforts  such  classes  have  been  organized  in  160  institutions.  The 
movement  is  disseminating  knowledge  of  effective  organization  in  church  work 
and  preparing  teachers  for  Sunday  Schools. 

In  addition  to  the  work  outlined  above,  special  classes  are  now  organized  for 
the  teachers  assembled  in  the  summer  normal  schools.  In  1918  these  classes 
were  conducted  in  fourteen  of  the  thirty-one  summer  normals. 

Other  Organizations 

In  the  past  few  years  there  has  been  an  awakened  conscience  in  regard  to  the 
social  needs  of  the  Negro.  Americanization  does  not  mean  simply  adapting 
foreign  groups  to  an  American  community  life  and  standards.  It  means  arousing 
all  native  born  citizens  of  all  races  to  a  new  enthusiasm  for  American  ideals  of 
living  and  of  mental  development.  The  leaders  of  these  movements  have  sought 
advice  and  counsel  from  the  executive  force  of  the  Phelps-Stokes  Fund.  Among 
these  have  been  the  British  Commission  to  study  the  needs  of  village  life  in  India, 
traveling  through  the  United  States  in  order  to  observe  educational  methods 


COOPERATION  WITH  OTHER  AGENCIES  67 

with  handicapped  groups.  The  Phelps-Stokes  Fund  had  the  privilege  of  cooperat- 
ing actively  in  interpreting  educational  experience  in  this  country  to  the  group. 
At  other  times  the  services  of  the  educational  director  of  the  Fund  have  been 
utilized  to  guide  groups  of  Chinese  and  Japanese  students  to  educational  fields 
where  the  adaptation  to  the  needs  of  the  pupils  was  particularly  effective. 

Other  organizations  and  institutions  with  which  members  of  the  executive 
force  have  cooperated  in  various  capacities  are  the  Miner  Fund,  Boy  Scouts,  Fisk 
University,  Howard  University,  National  Training  School  for  Women  and  Girls, 
Southern  Sociological  Congress,  and  the  Commission  on  the  Reorganization  of 
Secondary  Education  of  the  National  Education  Association. 

The  Southern  Sociological  Congress  has  been  one  of  the  welfare  agencies  with 
which  cooperation  has  been  very  close.  This  Congress  has  one  section  of  its 
work  devoted  entirely  to  Negro  affairs.  The  work  has  been  aided  in  the  past 
few  years  by  small  appropriations  of  money  from  the  Phelps-Stokes  Fund  and 
by  personal  counsel  which  the  director  has  been  able  to  give.  One  of  the  most 
important  recent  movements  of  this  Congress  has  been  its  pronouncements  in 
favor  of  a  broader  and  saner  attitude  in  race  relations.  The  recent  trip  which 
the  president  and  the  secretary  of  the  Congress  took  to  Salt  Lake  City  to  the 
meeting  of  the  governors  there  to  bring  before  them  resolutions  on  lynching  was 
financed  by  the  Fund. 

The  chairmanship  of  the  Committee  on  Social  Studies  in  Secondary  Education 
under  the  N.  E.  A.  Reorganization  Commission  has  enabled  the  educational 
director  to  assist  in  the  effort  to  make  the  teaching  of  civics  and  history  in  the 
high  schools  of  the  country  more  effective  in  preparing  the  youth  of  the  land  for 
the  duties  of  citizenship.  The  reports  of  the  Commission  on  Secondary  Education 
have  been  printed  by  the  United  States  Bureau  of  Education.  These  reports 
have  been  issued  with  the  conviction  that  the  secondary  school  teachers  of  social 
studies  have  a  remarkable  opportunity  to  improve  the  citizenship  of  the  land. 
This  conviction  is  based  upon  the  fact  that  the  two  million  secondary  school 
pupils  constitute  probably  the  largest  and  most  impressionable  group  in  the 
country  that  can  be  directed  to  a  serious  and  systematic  effort,  through  both 
study  and  practice,  to  acquire  the  social  spirit.  If  the  two  and  a  half  million 
pupils  of  the  seventh  and  eighth  grades  are  included  in  the  secondary  group, 
according  to  the  six-and-six  plan,  this  opportunity  will  be  very  greatly  increased. 
The  committee  interpreted  this  opportunity  as  a  responsibility  which  can  be 
realized  only  by  the  development  in  the  pupil  of  a  constructive  attitude  in  the 
consideration  of  all  social  conditions.  In  facing  the  increasing  complexity  of 
society,  it  is  most  important  that  the  youth  of  the  land  be  steadied  by  an  unwaver- 
ing faith  in  humanity  and  by  an  appreciation  of  the  institutions  which  have 
contributed  to  the  advancement  of  civilization. 


V 
THE  PHELPS-STOKES  FELLOWSHIPS 

The  present  attitude  toward  racial  problems  resembles  the  old  attitude  toward 
the  problems  of  poverty.  A  fatalistic  belief  prevailed  that  poverty  was  a  natural 
condition  of  certain  groups.  The  causes  were  supposed  to  be  perfectly  apparent 
to  all  men  of  ordinary  intelligence.  The  study  of  economics  and  other  social 
sciences  has  shown  that  poverty  may  be  the  result  of  a  number  of  forces  and 
conditions.  A  new  attitude  has  consequently  been  developed  toward  the  pauper 
class.  The  old  fatalistic  attitude  toward  race  problems  still  prevails  too  generally. 
Prejudice,  based  upon  ignorance  and  tradition,  frequently  determines  policies  of 
vital  importance  to  both  white  and  colored  people.  A  beginning  has  been  made 
in  a  study  of  the  elements  that  enter  into  the  racial  problems  of  our  country. 
Dr.  W.  D.  Weatherford,  through  the  Y.  M.  C.  A.  Conferences  at  Blue  Ridge 
and  the  study  groups  in  southern  colleges,  has  caused  many  southern  students 
to  think  more  intelligently  on  these  questions.  The  Southern  University  Race 
Commission  described  elsewhere  in  this  report  is  exerting  similar  influence. 

The  Trustees  of  the  Phelps-Stokes  Fund,  and  especially  Dr.  Anson  Phelps 
Stokes,  the  secretary  of  the  Fund,  are  emphatic  in  their  belief  that  every  possible 
effort  should  be  made  to  prepare  the  students  in  southern  universities  and  colleges 
to  approach  the  Negro  problem  in  a  broad-minded,  scientific  manner.  To  this 
end  the  Trustees  in  1911  endowed  one  fellowship  in  the  University  of  Georgia, 
one  in  the  University  of  Virginia,  and  a  traveling  foundation  at  Peabody  Teachers' 
College.  Each  fellowship  has  an  endowmant  of  $12,500,  producing  an  income 
of  about  $500.  The  income  of  the  traveling  foundation  of  $10,000  is  used  to 
pay  the  expenses  of  professors  who  are  making  special  study  of  the  educational 
needs  of  the  Negro  race. 

The  results  of  these  appropriations  have  been  very  satisfactory.  Twelve 
students  have  spent  a  year  or  more  in  careful  investigation  of  some  phase  of  the 
Negro  problem.  Several  professors  from  Peabody  College  have  visited  Negro 
schools  of  various  grades.  Even  in  the  brief  time  since  the  fellowships  were 
established  practically  all  the  fellows  have  shown  the  value  of  their  special  training 
in  race  problems.  At  least  three  of  them  have  rendered  service  of  national  impor- 
tance. Striking  testimony  to  the  value  of  these  fellowships  has  been  expressed 
by  the  Southern  University  Commission  on  Race  Questions  in  the  following 
resolutions: 

In  consideration  of  the  fact  that  the  Phelps-Stokes  Fellowships  at  the  University  of 
Virginia  and  the  University  of  Georgia  have  accomplished  most  excellent  results,  hesides 
arousing  the  interest  of  hundreds  of  students  at  those  institutions  in  a  serious  and  scientific 
study  of  southern  race  questions; 
68 


PHELPS-STOKES  FELLOWSHIPS  69 

And  in  view  of  the  growing  importance  of  having  first-hand  information  on  the  present 
status  of  race  relationship  in  the  south ; 

And  in  view  of  the  great  difficulty  of  developing  methods  of  securing  such  information 
on  account  of  the  many  obstacles  that  obviously  confront  such  investigation;  therefore 
be  it 

Resolved,  That  we  are  in  sympathy  with  the  method  typified  by  these  Fellowships,  and 

Resolved,  That  we  respectfully  request  the  establishment  of  additional  Fellowships  at 
other  Southern  State  universities. 

Terms  of  the  Fellowships 

The  Fellowship  at  the  University  of  Georgia  was  endowed  in  1912  under  the 
following  resolutions  of  the  Trustees: 

Whereas,  Miss  Caroline  Phelps  Stokes  in  establishing  the  Phelps-Stokes  Fund  was 
especially  solicitous  to  assist  in  improving  the  condition  of  the  Negro,  and 

Whereas,  It  is  the  conviction  of  the  Trustees  that  one  of  the  best  methods  of  forward- 
ing this  purpose  is  to  provide  means  to  enable  southern  youth  of  broad  sympathies  to 
make  a  scientific  study  of  the  Negro  and  his  adjustment  to  American  civilization : 

Resolved,  That  twelve  thousand  five  hundred  dollars  ($12,500)  be  given  to  the  Uni- 
versity of  Georgia  for  the  permanent  endowment  of  a  research  fellowship,  on  the  following 
conditions: 

1.  The  University  shall  appoint  annually  a  Fellow  in  Sociology  for  the  study  of  the 
Negro.  He  shall  pursue  advanced  studies  under  direction  of  the  departments  of  Sociology, 
Economics,  Education,  or  History,  as  may  be  determined  in  each  eaSe  by  the  Chancellor. 
The  Fellowship  shall  yield  $500,  and  shall,  after  four  years,  be  restricted  to  graduate 
students. 

2.  Each  Fellow  shall  prepare  a  paper  or  thesis  embodying  the  result  of  his  investigation, 
which  shall  be  published  by  the  University  with  assistance  from  the  income  of  the  Fund, 
any  surplus  remaining  being  applicable  to  other  objects  incident  to  the  main  purpose  of 
the  Fellowship.  A  copy  of  these  resolutions  shall  be  incorporated  in  every  publication 
issued  under  this  foundation. 

The  right  to  make  all  necessary  regulations,  not  inconsistent  with  the  spirit  and  letter 
of  these  resolutions,  is  given  to  the  Chancellor  and  the  Faculty,  but  no  changes  in  the 
conditions  of  the  foundation  can  be  made  without  the  mutual  consent  of  both  the  Trustees 
of  the  University  and  of  the  Phelps-Stokes  Fund. 

At  the  University  of  Virginia  "the  holder  must  be  a  graduate  student  in 
residence  at  this  University  and  must  plan  his  courses  in  accordance  with  certain 
specific  requirements  of  the  Phelps-Stokes  Fellowship  Committee.  He  must, 
furthermore,  pursue  research  work  concerning  the  Negro  in  the  South;  encourage 
investigation  and  a  wider  general  interest  in  the  Negro  problem  among  the  students 
of  the  University  and  of  other  colleges  in  Virginia;  procure  lectures  upon  Negro 
topics  for  the  University,  to  be  delivered  by  lectures  approved  in  advance  by  the 
committee;  prepare  a  report  embodying  the  results  of  his  incumbency;  and  write 
a  thesis  upon  some  subject  approved  in  advance  by  the  committee,  which  thesis 


70  EDUCATIONAL  ADAPTATIONS 

must  be  submitted  in  completed  form  or  in  satisfactory  abstract  not  later  than 
May  15  of  the  year  of  the  holder's  incumbency.  In  awarding  the  Fellowship 
preference  will  be  given  to  students  in  the  department  of  Graduate  Studies,  but 
applications  from  students  in  the  professional  departments  will  also  be  considered." 
The  following  is  a  list  of  the  Fellows: 

UNIVERSITY   OF  GEORGIA  UNIVERSITY  OF  VIRGINIA 

Thomas  Jackson  Woofter,  Jr.,  1912-13.  H.  M.  McManaway,  1912-13. 

Walter  B.  Hill,  1913-14.  D.  Hiden  Ramsey,  1913-14. 

Miley  K.  Johnson,  1914-15.  Samuel  T.  Bitting,  1914-15. 

Hoke  Smith  O'Kelly,  1915-16.  Tipton  Ray  Snavely,  1915-17, 1918-19. 

Thomas  A.  Thrash,  1916-17.  R.  L.  Morton,  1917-18. 

W.  M.  Rogers,  1917-18.  Thomas  Elbert  Wright,  1919-20 

Frank  Taylor  Long,  1918-19. 

Ruth  Reed,  1919-20. 

The  Fellows  and  Their  Work 

A  brief  account  of  the  work  of  each  of  these  Fellows  is  given  below : 
At  the  University  of  Georgia 

1.  Thomas  Jackson  Woofter,  Jr.,  A.  B.,  University  of  Georgia,  1912,  Fellow 
1912-13.  Mr.  Woofter's  work  was  directed  by  Dr.  R.  P.  Brooks,  Professor  of 
Georgia  History.  Publications:  "The  Negroes  of  Athens,  Georgia"  (Phelps- 
Stokes  Fellowship  Studies,  No.  1),  Bulletin  of  the  University  of  Georgia,  Vol.  XIV 
No.  4,  Serial  No.  217. 

In  this  study  the  effort  was  made  to  interview  the  head  of  every  Negro  family 
in  Athens.  A  questionnaire  was  filled  for  each  family.  The  information  gathered 
related  to  the  size  of  the  family,  the  amount  of  the  income  and  its  sources,  the 
expenditures  for  food,  fuel,  etc.  The  premises  were  inspected.  In  all  1,018 
homes  were  inspected  (91  per  cent  of  the  total  number  of  residences  in  Negro 
settlements),  housing  1,224  families,  or  4,798  individuals,  which  was  77.6  per  cent 
of  the  Negro  population  as  shown  by  the  Census  of  1910.  The  lodges,  churches, 
and  schools  of  Athens  were  also  investigated,  and  questionnaires  were  sent  to 
white  families  employing  Negro  servants. 

Some  of  the  conclusions  of  Mr.  Woofter's  studies  were: 

Domestic  service,  once  held  in  high  esteem  by  Negroes  as  a  vocation,  is  now  looked 
down  upon.  Living  conditions  among  the  Negroes  of  Athens  are  a  menace  to  the  health 
of  the  whole  community,  white  as  well  as  colored.  The  expenditures  of  the  poorer  Negro 
families  for  fuel  and  rent  are  entirely  too  high.  The  Negro  churches  are  not  getting  hold 
of  the  younger  Negroes.  The  social  life  of  the  mature  Negroes  is  in  the  church  and  the 
lodge. 

After  leaving  the  University  of  Georgia  Mr.  Woofter's  work  was  with  the 
United  States  Bureau  of  Education  and  the  Phelps-Stokes  Fund  from  October, 


PHELPS-STOKES  FELLOWSHIPS  71 

1913,  to  October,  1916.  During  this  time  he  did  field  work  and  office  work  in 
the  preparation  of  the  report  on  Negro  Education.  From  October,  1916,  to 
May,  1917,  he  was  a  graduate  student  at  Columbia  University.  During  the 
summer  of  1917,  as  an  employe  of  the  Department  of  Labor,  he  investigated  the 
migration  of  the  Negroes  from  the  South,  his  report  being  published  in  the  official 
Bulletin  of  the  Department,  under  the  title  "Negro  Migration  in  1916-17." 
In  September,  1917,  he  was  given  a  commission  in  the  Adjutant  General's  Office, 
War  Department,  was  sent  to  France,  and  remained  there  until  the  close  of  the 
war.  He  studied  for  a  short  time  at  the  Sorbonne  in  Paris  before  returning  to 
the  United  States.  He  is  at  present  continuing  his  graduate  studies  at  Columbia 
University. 

2.  Walter  B.  Hill,  B.  S.  E.  E.,  University  of  Georgia,  1913;  Fellow  1913-14. 
Mr.  Hill's  work  was  directed  by  Dr.  R.  P.  Brooks.  Publication:  A  Rural  Survey 
of  Clarke  County,  Georgia,  with  Special  Reference  to  the  Negroes  (Phelps-Stokes 
Fellowship  Studies,  No.  2),  Bulletin  of  the  University  of  Georgia,  Vol.  XV,  No.  3, 
Serial  No.  236. 

In  this  study  52  white  landowners,  30  colored  landowners,  and  70  colored 
tenants  were  interviewed,  questionnaires  being  filled  out  for  each  one.  The 
questions  covered  the  size  of  the  farms,  the  land  tenure,  the  merits  of  "cropping" 
and  renting,  the  quality  of  labor,  cost  of  labor,  crops  raised,  the  question  of  child 
labor  on  the  farms,  and  the  methods  of  finance.  In  addition,  all  the  schools  and 
churches,  both  colored  and  white,  in  the  county  were  visited.  Information  was 
obtained  from  school  teachers,  church  clerks,  and  pastors. 

The  conclusions  of  Mr.  Hill's  study  were  that  the  schools  are  inadequate, 
especially  the  Negro  schools.  The  churches  have  nonresident  pastors  who  preach 
only  one  or  two  Sundays  in  a  month.  Farm  labor  is  getting  scarcer,  and  is  less 
satisfactory  than  formerly.  Cropping  is  considered  best  from  the  tenant's  stand- 
point, and  the  wage  hand  system  from  the  landlord's.  The  farm  tenants  are 
exploited  by  reason  of  the  large  interest  they  pay  for  advances  of  provisions. 

After  leaving  the  University  Mr.  Hill  was  engaged  by  the  Phelps-Stokes  Fund 
and  the  Bureau  of  Education  and  remained  in  this  work  from  August,  191-4,  to 
July,  1919,  except  for  a  short  time  when  he  was  with  the  Personnel  Division  of 
the  War  Department,  distributing  the  colored  draft  for  the  Personnel  Committee 
of  the  General  Staff.  He  was  with  the  Federal  Board  for  Vocational  Training  at 
Atlanta,  Georgia,  in  charge  of  the  Negro  work  of  the  board,  until  January  1,  1920, 
when  he  became  State  Supervisor  of  Negro  Schools  under  the  State  Department 
of  Education  of  Georgia. 

3.  Miley  K.  Johnson,  A.  B.,  University  of  Georgia,  1914;  Fellow  1914-15. 
Mr.  Johnson's  work  was  directed  by  Dr.  Howard  W.  Odum.  Publication:  "School 
Conditions  in  Clarke  County,  Georgia"  (Phelps-Stokes  Studies,  No.  3),  Bulletin 
of  the  University  of  Georgia,  Vol.  XVI,  No.  11a. 

The  city  and  rural  schools  of  Clarke  County  were  studied,  and  the  Negro 
and    white    schools.     The    following    points    were    considered:  Comparisons    of 


72  EDUCATIONAL  ADAPTATIONS 

enrollment  and  attendance,  percentage  of  pupils  in  each  grade,  their  distribution 
by  age,  class  standing,  retardation,  deportment,  preparation  of  teachers,  condition 
of  the  buildings.  Binet  and  other  tests  were  made  of  300  children,  and  com- 
parisons of  white  and  colored  children.  Mr.  Johnson  found  that  the  white 
children  excel  the  Negro  children  as  the  tests  become  more  difficult.  He  also 
found  that  there  was  only  one  good  public  school  for  Negroes  in  Clarke  County 
outside  of  the  city  of  Athens,  and  that  much  of  the  educational  work  for  Negroes 
is  of  little  or  no  value.  He  found  that  the  white  schools  are  little  better  than  the 
colored  schools. 

4.  Hoke  Smith  O'Kelly,  A.  B.,  University  of  Georgia,  1915;  A.  M.  1916, 
Fellow  1915-16.  Mr.  O'Kelly's  work  was  directed  by  Dr.  Howard  W.  Odum. 
His  report, /'Sanitary  Conditions  among  the  Negroes  of  Athens,  Georgia,"  has  not 
been  published. 

Mr.  O'Kelly  became  sufficiently  interested  in  Negro  questions  to  enter  Columbia 
University  and  continue  his  studies  in  that  field.  He  was  with  the  American 
Forces  during  the  war,  and  is  now  at  Rana,  New  Mexico. 

5.  Thomas  A.  Thrash,  B.  S.,  University  of  Georgia,  1916,  Fellow  1916-17. 
Mr.  Thrash's  work  was  directed  by  Dr.  R.  P.  Brooks.  He  was  making  a  study 
of  the  economic  and  social  conditions  among  the  Negroes  of  Oglethorpe  County, 
Georgia,  when  he  left  to  join  the  Army.  As  his  study  was  not  completed  there 
has  been  no  publication. 

6.  W.  M.  Rogers,  A.  B.,  University  of  Georgia,  1917,  Fellow  1917-18.  Mr. 
Rogers'  work  was  directed  by  Dr.  H.  W.  Odum.  He  left  to  join  the  army  before 
completing  his  study  of  the  social  and  economic  conditions  among  the  Negroes  of 
Oconee  County,  Georgia,  but  made  arrangements  to  return  and  complete  the 
investigation.     This  he  has  done,  and  he  is  now  at  the  University. 

7.  Frank  Taylor  Long,  Mercer  University,  Fellow  1918-19.  Mr.  Long's 
work  was  directed  by  Professor  Frazier,  of  the  Economics  Department.  His 
study  involved  the  part  taken  by  the  Negroes  of  Athens  and  Clarke  County  in 
the  war.  It  included  investigation  of  the  men  in  service,  the  Red  Cross  work, 
Liberty  Bond  sales,  Thrift  Stamps,  and  other  activities  of  the  Negroes.  The 
study  has  been  published. 

Mr.  Long  was  formerly  a  professor  of  English  at  Southern  College,  Sutherland, 
Florida,  and  is  again  filling  that  chair. 

8.  Ruth  Reed,  Fellow  1919-20.  Miss  Reed  is  the  first  woman  to  hold  a 
fellowship  at  either  Georgia  or  Virginia.  Her  thesis  is  to  be  a  social  survey  of  the 
Negro  women  of  Gainesville,  Georgia.  Miss  Reed's  study  is  made  under  the 
direction  of  Prof.  C.  J.  Heatwole  of  the  Department  of  Sociology  and  Education. 

At  the  University  of  Virginia 
1.  II.   M.    McManaway,   Graduate   of   the   University   of   Virginia,   Fellow 
1912-13.     Mr.  McManaway  complied  with  all  the  requirements  of  the  Fellowship 
except  the  completion  of  a  monograph   embodying  the  results  of  his  research. 


PHELPS-STOKES  FELLOWSHIPS  73 

After  leaving  the  University  he  became  Superintendent  of  Schools  of  Albemarle 
County,  Virginia,  his  researches  as  Fellow  having  interested  him  in  educational 
work.  Albemarle  is  one  of  the  few  counties  in  the  state  which  has  a  training 
school  for  Negroes.  This  school  was  built  after  Mr.  McManaway  became  super- 
intendent. Mr.  McManaway  is  at  present  Superintendent  of  the  Virginia  School 
for  the  Deaf  and  Blind  at  Staunton,  Virginia. 

2.  D.  Hiden  Ramsey,  Graduate  of  the  University  of  Virginia,  Fellow  1913-14. 
Mr.  Ramsey's  thesis  was  published  as  a  part  of  the  volume  of  the  Phelps-Stokes 
Fellowship  papers  issued  by  the  University  of  Virginia,  and  entitled  "Lectures 
and  Addresses  on  the  Negro  in  the  South." 

The  subject  of  the  thesis  is  "Negro  Criminality."  The  various  sections  deal 
with  the  historical  background,  showing  how  the  Negro  criminal  was  developed; 
"Negro  Law,"  which  discusses  the  difference  in  administration  of  justice  for 
whites  and  blacks;  laws  passed  primarily  to  control  Negroes;  laws  not  applied  to 
Negroes;  laws  enforced  against  whites  only;  the  attitude  of  the  average  Negro 
toward  crime;  examples  of  fairness  and  unfairness  toward  the  Negro  in  southern 
courts;  opinions  of  persons  who  have  investigated  the  subject. 

From  his  study  Mr.  Ramsey  concludes  that  courts  must  administer  justice  to 
black  and  white  alike,  and  that  laws  which  are  unfair  must  be  repealed.  He 
believes  that  Negro  leaders  must  create  a  reverence  for  law  among  their  own 
people.  He  urges  that  when  Negroes  are  found  guilty  they  be  legally  pun- 
ished, but  not  given  excessive  sentences. 

Mr.  Ramsey  held  the  position  of  Commissioner  of  Public  Safety  at  Asheville, 
N.  C,  later  opening  a  law  office  in  that  city.  He  was  recently  appointed  Com- 
missioner of  Public  Safety  at  Winston-Salem,  N.  C. 

3.  Samuel  T.  Bitting,  Graduate  of  the  University  of  Virginia,  Fellow  1914-15. 
His  publication  was  "Rural  Land  Ownership  Among  Negroes  of  Virginia,"  and 
it  was  published  as  a  part  of  the  Phelps-Stokes  Fellowship  series. 

During  the  investigation  special  attention  was  paid  to  Albemarle  County. 
Mr.  Bitting  personally  interviewed  Negro  landowners  in  the  county,  filling  out  a 
questionnaire  for  each  one.  He  found  that  many  of  the  landowners  did  not 
depend  on  farming  for  a  living,  but  worked  at  some  trade  and  made  farming  a 
side  line.  He  also  investigated  health  and  educational  conditions  as  well  as  social 
and  religious  conditions.  He  studied  the  reports  of  the  Virginia  Tax  Commission, 
the  State  Auditor,  and  the  State  Department  of  Health.  He  interviewed  men 
in  various  sections  of  the  state  who  are  recognized  as  authorities  on  certain  phases 
of  Virginia  life.  Mr.  Bitting's  conclusions  were  that  the  Negro  problem  is  partly 
biological,  partly  economic,  partly  educational  and  social.  There  must  be  a 
better  adjustment  between  the  Negro's  environment  and  his  racial  inheritance. 
Land  ownership  among  the  Negroes  must  increase  if  the  race  is  to  improve,  because 
civilization  begins  with  a  sense  of  possession,  and  if  the  Negro  is  to  have  a  real 
home,  he  must  own  it.     Mr.  Bitting  concluded  that  the  Negro  must  be  educated 


74  EDUCATIONAL  ADAPTATIONS 

along  race  lines,  that  foundations  must  be  laid  first  and  higher  education  acquired 
later.     The  crux  of  the  problem  is  in  economic  efficiency. 

Mr.  Bitting  did  not  follow  up  his  studies.  He  became  connected  with  the 
National  City  Bank  of  New  York,  and  is  in  foreign  service  for  the  bank  at  Shanghai, 
China. 

4.  Tipton  Ray  Snavely,  Graduate  of  Emory  and  Henry  College;  Fellow  at 
University  of  Virginia,  1915-17.  His  thesis,  "The  Taxation  of  Negroes  in  Vir- 
ginia," was  published  in  the  Phelps-Stokes  series. 

Mr.  Suavely  collected  his  data  from  state  laws  and  judicial  decisions,  historical 
documents,  state  papers,  and  other  sources.  He  showed  that  real  estate  is  the 
chief  source  of  all  taxes  paid  by  Negroes,  and  that  the  Negro  taxpayer  suffers 
from  several  types  of  injustice.  He  pointed  out  that  the  holdings  of  Negroes  are 
generally  small,  and  that,  compared  to  the  value,  assessments  are  lowest  on  large 
holdings.  The  assessments,  he  found,  are  highest  where  the  Negro  population  is 
most  dense,  and  that  property  of  the  same  market  value,  when  held  by  Negroes, 
is  assessed  more  than  when  held  by  whites. 

In  1916  Mr.  Snavely  entered  Harvard  University,  receiving  the  degree  of 
A.  M.  in  1917.  During  the  summer  of  1917  he  made  a  study  of  Negro  migration 
from  Alabama  and  North  Carolina.  The  results  of  this  investigation  were  pub- 
lished in  the  United  States  Department  of  Labor  report,  "Negro  Migration  in 
1916-1917."  He  is  at  present  a  professor  in  economics  at  the  University  of 
Virginia. 

5.  R.  L.  Morton,  Graduate  Hampden-Sydney  College,  studied  at  University 
of  Virginia  and  at  Harvard  University;  Fellow  at  University  of  Virginia,  1917-18. 

Mr.  Morton's  thesis,  "The  History  of  Negro  Suffrage  in  Virginia  Since  the 
Civil  War,"  has  been  published. 

Mr.  Morton  was  at  the  Camp  Library,  Camp  Hancock,  Georgia,  during  and 
after  the  war.  He  is  now  professor  of  history  and  political  science  at  William  and 
Mary  College,  Williamsburg,  Virginia. 

6.  Thomas  E.  Wright,  Graduate  of  Harvard  College.  Fellow  at  University 
of  Virginia,  1919-20.  His  thesis  is  to  be  a  social  and  economic  survey  of  Roanoke, 
Virginia,  and  is  under  the  direction  of  Professor  Lindsay  Rogers  of  the  Depart- 
ment of  Economics. 

The  first  year  the  Fellowship  was  established  at  the  University  of  Virginia 
seven  prominent  and  liberal-minded  Southern  men  were  brought  to  the  LTniversity 
to  speak  to  the  students  on  various  phases  of  the  race  relations  and  problems. 

Future  Developments  of  the  Fellowships 

The  work  of  the  Fellows  at  the  University  of  Georgia  has  been  directed  by 
Professors  R.  P.  Brooks,  Howard  W.  Odum,  and  C.  J.  Heatwole.  Both  Professor 
Brooks  and  Professor  Odum  are  no  longer  at  the  university.  At  Virginia  the  work 
has  been  directed  by  Professors  Thos.  W.  Page  and  Lindsay  Rogers. 


PHELPS-STOKES  FELLOWSHIPS  75 

It  will  be  noted  that  the  eight  Fellows  at  the  University  of  Georgia  have 
confined  their  studies  to  the  Negro  life  in  a  small  section  of  Georgia.  Two  of 
them  have  made  their  studies  at  Athens,  which  is  the  university  city.  Three 
have  studied  Negro  life  in  Clarke  County.  One  has  taken  Oconee  County,  which 
is  the  very  small  county  south  of  Athens,  and  another  Oglethorpe  County,  a  large 
county  lying  east  of  Athens.  This  Fellow,  however,  did  not  complete  his  study, 
and  there  has  been  no  arrangement  for  its  completion  after  his  return  from  the 
army.     The  present  Fellow  is  confining  her  study  to  Gainesville. 

General  investigations  are  both  dangerous  to  the  student  and  of  little  value 
to  those  who  desire  monographs  to  aid  them  in  dealing  with  concrete  problems 
of  race  relations.  The  number  of  concrete  subjects  which  can  be  investigated  in 
the  short  time  indicated  in  the  foregoing  schedule  is  necessarily  limited,  especially 
as  no  provisions  for  traveling  expenses  is  made  by  the  Fund  or  either  institution. 
This  necessitates  the  study  of  conditions  close  to  the  university.  The  problem  of 
selecting  such  conditions  will  become  increasingly  hard  as  the  subjects  are  exhausted  • 
The  six  Fellows  have  all  had  to  spend  two  or  three  months  in  general  reading  and 
study  to  become  en  rapport  with  their  field.  Then  from  a  month  to  six  weeks  has 
been  spent  in  the  preparation  of  questionnaires  determining  the  scope  of  the 
investigation.  The  actual  investigation  cannot  begin  therefore  until  some  time  in 
midwinter.  The  time  remaining  is  short  and,  unless  the  investigation  is  very  gen- 
eral, the  work  of  assembling  material  lasts  until  late  in  the  fall. 

Until  January,  1920,  the  Educational  Director  of  the  Fund  at  Washington 
had  had  practically  no  contact  with  the  Fellows.  The  Trustees  felt  the  importance 
of  developing  an  esprit  de  corps  among  those  who  had  held  Fellowships  during 
recent  years,  both  in  the  University  of  Virginia  and  the  University  of  Georgia. 
It  was  also  felt  that  the  group  should  establish  contacts,  both  with  the  Southern 
University  Race  Commission  and  other  important  movements  for  the  improve- 
ment of  race  relations.  Accordingly,  a  conference  of  the  eight  Fellows  from 
Georgia  and  the  six  from  Virginia  was  called  at  Tuskegee  for  January  5  and  6, 
1920.  Invitations  to  meet  with  these  Fellows  were  extended  to  two  professors 
from  each  of  the  two  universities,  to  the  University  Commission  on  Race  Questions, 
and  to  representative  white  and  colored  leaders.  In  all  there  gathered  twenty-nine 
southern  leaders,  who,  for  two  days,  discussed  present  conditions  in  the  South  as 
they  affect  the  economic  and  social  welfare  of  whites  and  blacks.  The  discussions 
were  based  on  frank  statements  of  the  existing  attitudes  of  white  and  colored 
people.  The  Educational  Director  of  the  Fund  presided  at  the  meetings  on  the 
request  of  the  group. 

During  this  conference  the  Phelps-Stokes  Fellows  decided  to  form  a  permanent 
organization.  Mr.  T.  J.  Woofter,  Jr.,  of  the  University  of  Georgia,  was  chosen 
permanent  secretary.  They  also  discussed  the  studies  that  should  be  made  by 
men  or  women  who  should  hereafter  hold  the  Fellowships.  As  these  studies  may 
be  the  basis  of  future  scientific  studies  of  Negro  life  and  race  relationships  in 


76  EDUCATIONAL  ADAPTATIONS 

America,  it  was  felt  that  care  should  be  exercised  to  make  them  a  positive  scientific 
contribution  to  the  literature  of  the  subject.  Helpful  suggestions  were  made 
by  Mr.  L.  C.  Gray,  of  the  Division  of  Farm  Management  of  the  Department  of 
Agriculture,  and  by  Mr.  Monroe  N.  Work,  of  the  Department  of  Research 
and  Records,  Tuskegee  Institute.  Letters  have  commended  the  conference  most 
highly:  "I  feel  that  I  have  a  keener  appreciation  and  a  deeper  understanding 
of  our  southern  problems  as  a  result  of  the  conference,"  wrote  one  participant. 
"The  Tuskegee  meeting  was  a  time  of  permanent  spiritual  value  for  me  and  for 
each  one  of  the  Phelps-Stokes  Fellows,"  another  asserted. 


VI 
UNIVERSITY  COMMISSION  ON  RACE  QUESTIONS 

Formation  of  the  Commission 

The  education  of  the  Negro  involves  not  only  the  adjustment  of  ten  millions 
of  black  people  to  the  economic,  civic,  and  spiritual  possibilities  of  a  democracy, 
but  it  also  involves  the  adjustment  of  the  white  North  and  the  white  South  to 
the  Negro.  It  was  with  a  full  and  compelling  realization  of  this  that  a  group  of 
university  men  from  eleven  of  the  southern  state  universities  met  in  Nashville, 
Tennessee,  in  1912.  In  an  open  letter  to  the  South  which  this  group  of  leaders 
later  issued,  they  said:  "The  South  cannot  realize  its  destiny  if  one-third  of  her 
population  is  undeveloped  and  inefficient.  For  our  common  welfare  we  must 
strive  to  cure  disease  wherever  we  find  it,  strengthen  whatever  is  weak,  and 
develop  all  that  is  undeveloped.  The  inadequate  provision  for  the  education  of 
the  Negro  is  more  than  an  injustice  to  him;  it  is  an  injury  to  the  white  man." 

While  the  need  of  aligning  the  universities  which  were  taking  such  a  large 
part  in  the  development  of  southern  manhood  into  a  more  thorough  study  of  the 
Negro  and  his  significance  for  the  nation  had  been  considered  many  times,  the 
active  call  which  brought  the  group  together  came  most  fittingly  from  Dr.  James  H. 
Dillard,  formerly  of  Tulane  University,  and  later  of  the  Jeanes  Fund  and  Slater 
Board. 

No  constructive  work  in  the  education  of  the  colored  people  of  the  United 
States  can  ignore  the  work  of  this  University  Commission  on  Southern  Race 
Questions.  So  in  accord  with  the  purposes  of  the  founder  of  the  Phelps-Stokes 
Fund,  the  Fund  gladly  allied  itself  to  the  Commission  by  contributions  and  by 
endorsement  of  the  programs. 

Purpose  of  the  Commission 

At  the  first  meeting  the  purpose  of  the  Commission  was  stated  briefly : 
Such  a  Commission  should  consult  with  leading  men  in  both  races,  should  endeavor  to 
keep  informed  in  regard  to  the  relations  existing  between  the  races,  and  should  aim  especially 
to  influence  southern  college  men  to  approach  the  subject  with  intelligent  information  and 
with  sympathetic  interest. 

From  time  to  time  the  members  of  this  group  have  gone  on  record  in  public 
address  and  in  printed  letter  and  report  in  the  work  of  molding  opinion  in  the 
South  so  that  right  relationships  should  result. 

Professor  De  Loach,  of  the  University  of  Georgia,  said  in  December,  1912: 

I  am  fully  persuaded  that  we  cannot  afford  any  longer  to  let  the  natural  resources  of  the 
South,  so  generally  left  in  the  hands  of  the  Negro,  drift  into  the  Mississippi  River  and  the 
Atlantic  Ocean.    A  word  to  the  Negroes  may  be  the  means  of  saving  millions  to  the  South 

77 


78  EDUCATIONAL  ADAPTATIONS 

annually.  It  requires  only  one  generation  to  waste  natural  resources  in  the  form  of  soil  that 
it  has  taken  ages  to  form,  and  which  cannot  be  regained  in  a  hundred  years.  One  way  to 
prevent  the  waste  is  to  give  the  Negro,  who  does  his  full  share  of  wasting,  access  to  scientific 
methods,  especially  since  he  responds  so  readily  to  this  sort  of  advice. 

Professor  Sutton,  of  the  University  of  Texas,  said : 

The  problem  to  be  attacked  by  this  commission  is  extraordinarily  complex.  The  prob- 
lems of  all  the  institutions  of  civilized  life  must  be  considered — the  problems  of  the  home, 
the  church,  the  school,  the  state,  the  industrial  world,  and  civil  society.  In  a  great  measure 
our  work  will  involve  a  patient  and  careful  examination  of  actual  facts. 

Professor  Doster,  of  the  University  of  Alabama,  conceived  the  work  of  the 
group  to  be  as  follows: 

1.  The  Commission  should  gather  facts  concerning  the  economic,  social,  religious,  and 
educational  conditions  of  the  Negro. 

2.  Should  these  facts,  when  collected,  warrant  such  action,  the  Commission  should  urge 
the  state  universities  and  other  higher  institutions  of  learning  in  the  South  to  offer,  through 
their  departments  of  sociology  and  kindred  departments,  courses  dealing  with  race  relations. 

3.  The  elevation  of  the  Negro  is  chiefly  a  matter  of  education.  To  educate  the  Negro  and 
at  the  same  time  promote  good  feeling  between  the  races  is  a  delicate  task.  Agencies  con- 
trolled by  ideals  in  accord  with  the  spirit  of  the  South  should  be  provided  for  training  Negro 
ministers,  teachers,  and  supervisors  of  schools.  The  courses  of  study  in  the  Negro  elementary 
schools  should  be  directly  related  to  the  environment  of  the  Negro  child  and,  in  the  main, 
should  be  vocational  in  character. 

4.  It  must  be  borne  in  mind  that  any  attempt  to  elevate  the  Negro  must  be  met  with  a 
corresponding  attempt  to  improve  the  condition  of  the  poorer  white  classes  of  the  South. 
Otherwise  racial  antagonism  will  be  increased  rather  than  diminished. 

The  personnel  of  this  body  insured  the  honesty  of  the  work  done,  and  has 
made  the  statements  and  reports  issued  authoritative.  At  the  first  meeting  there 
were  present: 

James  J.  Doster,  University  of  Alabama. 
Charles  H.  Brough,  University  of  Arkansas. 
James  M.  Farr,  University  of  Florida. 
R.  J.  H.  De  Loach,  University  of  Georgia. 
William  O.  Scroggs,  Louisiana  State  University. 
W.  D.  Hedleston,  University  of  Mississippi. 
Charles  W.  Bain,  University  of  North  Carolina. 
Josiah  Morse,  University  of  South  Carolina. 
James  D.  Hoskins,  University  of  Tennessee. 
Williams  S.  Sutton,  University  of  Texas. 
William  M.  Hunley,  University  of  Virginia. 

Since  the  first  meeting  Professor  Brough  has  become  Governor  Brough  of  Arkansas, 
and  his  place  has  been  taken  by  David  Y.  Thomas,  of  the  University  of  Arkansas. 
Professor  Bain  has  died.     His  place  has  been  taken  by  Professor  E.  C.  Branson. 


UNIVERSITY  RACE  COMMISSION  79 

Professor  Hedleston  of  Mississippi  has  been  followed  by  Professor  William  L. 
Kennon,  and  Professor  De  Loach  by  Professor  R.  P.  Brooks,  while  Professor  Brooks 
has  in  turn  been  succeeded  by  Prof.  C.  J.  Heatwole. 

Results  of  the  Commission's  Work 

The  results  of  the  work  of  this  Race  Commission  have  been  more  far  reaching 
than  it  is  easy  to  measure.  Courses  in  the  study  of  race  questions  have  been 
introduced  into  most  southern  colleges  and  universities.  Professor  Boyd  of 
Trinity  College,  North  Carolina,  where  the  commission  met  in  January,  1916, 
said  that — 

he  was  surprised  to  find  how  eagerly  the  students  at  Trinity  went  about  the  study  of  race 
questions  when  given  topics  bearing  on  the  general  subject  for  discussion  as  class  exercises. 
He  thought  this  practice  should  be  encouraged  at  all  southern  colleges.  Southern  college 
men  should  be  brought  face  to  face  in  a  scholarly  way  with  the  race  problem,  he  said,  and  he 
declared  that  he  had  found  essay  writing,  with  such  subjects  as  segregation,  education  of 
Negroes,  manual  training  versus  book  learning,  the  Negro  in  politics,  the  colored  church, 
the  colored  minister  as  a  leader,  the  Negro  business  man,  the  Negro  and  the  trade  union,  the 
Negro  club,  social  and  beneficial,  etc.,  both  interesting  to  the  student  and  productive  of  good 
results. 

At  the  University  of  North  Carolina  the  students  have  assisted  in  a  Negro  com- 
munity sanitation  survey — "one  of  the  first  and  best  conducted  surveys  of  the 
kind  ever  undertaken."  In  Texas,  students  under  the  direction  of  Dr.  Sutton 
surveyed  two  colleges  for  Negroes.  Their  purpose  in  this  .study  was  varied,  but 
among  other  reasons  they  were  attempting  to  find  out  the  need  for  such  institu- 
tions and  to  what  extent  the  need  was  being  satisfied.  At  a  meeting  in  August, 
1916,  Dr.  Kennon  mentioned  the  fact  that  "in  conferring  the  degree  of  doctor 
of  laws  recently,  the  University  of  Mississippi  emphasized  the  point  that  the 
degree  was  conferred  in  that  instance  in  recognition  of  studies  made  by  the  man 
who  received  it  in  the  field  of  race  relationships." 

There  is  no  doubt  that  the  southern  universities  are  turning  out  white  men 
who  have  a  more  intelligent  point  of  view  toward  their  black  neighbors  than 
formerly — a  point  of  view  based  on  first  hand  knowledge  interpreted  by  a  broad 
social  science  and  a  fine  statesmanship. 

The  published  reports  of  the  Commission  have  been  open  letters  on  Lynching, 
on  Education,  on  Migration;  articles  on  The  Religious  Contributions  to  the 
Betterment  of  the  Negro,  The  Civic  Status  of  the  Negro,  The  Basis  of  Efficiency — 
a  study  of  the  relation  of  education  to  industrial  efficiency,  and  The  Economic 
Condition  of  the  Negroes  of  Knoxville — a  study  by  one  of  the  students  in  the 
University  of  Tennessee. 

The  contribution  of  nearly  $6,900  which  the  Phelps-Stokes  Fund  has  made  to 
this  work  needs  no  comment.  The  Fund  is  to  be  congratulated  that  it  has  had  a 
part  in  the  work. 


VII 


THE  SOUTHERN  PUBLICITY  COMMITTEE 

One  of  the  great  forces  for  good  or  evil  in  race  relationships  is  the  public  press. 
The  perplexity  and  intensity  of  race  feelings  have  been  greatly  increased  during  these 
post-war  (.lays  by  the  thoughtlessness  and  indifference  of  white  papers  and  by  the 
reckless  agitation  of  Negro  papers.  Flaring  headlines  have  started  several 
dangerous  riots.  The  dramatic  elements  of  race  conflicts  appeal  to  the  "news 
sense"  of  reporters,  while  friendly  interchanges  of  white  and  colored  people  and 
constructive  movements  between  the  races  are  deemed  to  have  but  little  "news" 
value.  Too  many  white  papers  have  failed  to  give  space  to  any  Negro  news 
except  that  which  pictures  the  individual  Negro  as  a  "brute"  and  the  race  either 
as  buffoons  or  idlers.  With  very  few  exceptions,  Negro  newspapers  have  filled 
their  columns  with  bitter  denunciation  of  white  people.  There  has  been  prac- 
tically no  effort  to  distinguish  between  white  people  who  are  fair  and  those  who 
are  unjust.  In  this  the  Negroes  fall  into  the  same  error  they  have  long  attributed 
to  the  whites — that  of  holding  all  colored  people  responsible  for  the  offenses  of 
the  few. 

The  Southern  Publicity  Committee  represents  an  effort  to  show  how  this 
most  unfortunate  and  dangerous  publicity  may  be  corrected  and  a  new  emphasis 
given  to  the  constructive  and  friendly  relationship  between  the  races.  The 
organization  of  the  committee  was  made  possible  through  appropriations  by  the 
Phelps-Stokes  Fund— $1,000  in  November,  1917,  and  $2,500  in  1918— to  Mrs. 
John  D.  Hammond  of  Georgia.  Mrs.  Hammond  is  a  native  Georgian  whose 
work  and  writings  have  done  much  to  develop  confidence  between  the  races. 
Her  book,  "In  Black  and  White,"  is  one  of  the  notable  discussions  of  the  Southern 
situation.  It  was  through  the  efforts  of  Mrs.  Hammond  and  upon  her  advice 
that  the  members  of  the  Southern  Publicity  Committee  were  selected.  They 
are  men  and  women  of  outstanding  influence  in  their  states,  some  of  them  well 
known  throughout  the  nation.  The  committee  remains  as  at  first  constituted, 
except  for  Mr.  D.  P.  Toomey,  of  Texas,  who  died  in  the  summer  of  1919.  The 
other  members  are: 


Dr.  James  H.  Dillard,  Virginia. 

Mas.  John  D.  Hammond,  Georgia. 

The  Right  Rev.  Theodore  D.  Bratton, 

Mississippi. 
Hon.  Edward  E.  Britton,  District  of 

Columbia. 
Dr.  Charles  L.  Crow,  Florida. 
Dr.  W.  S.  Currell,  South  Carolina. 
Mr.  Jackson  Davis,  Virginia. 
Mr.  E.  B.  Doran,  Texas. 
80 


Mr.  Clark  Howell,  Georgia. 

Dr.  W.  D.  Weatherford,  Tennessee. 

Dr.    Thomas    Jesse   Jones,     District 

Columbia. 
Mr.  Arthur  B.  Krock,  Kentucky. 
Mas.  W.  S.  Winsborougii,  Missouri. 
Mrs.  J.  H.  McCoy,  Tennessee. 
Mr.  C.  P.  J.  Mooney,  Tennessee. 
Mr.  Walter  Parker,  Louisiana. 
Mrs.  Percy  W.  Pennypacker,  Texas. 


of 


SOUTHERN  PUBLICITY  COMMITTEE  81 

Purpose  and  Scope 

Statements  explaining  the  purpose  and  scope  of  the  work  have  been  issued 
from  time  to  time  by  Mrs.  Hammond  as  secretary  of  the  committee.  In  one 
such  statement,  sent  to  the  editors  of  one  hundred  and  six  southern  newspapers 
as  well  as  to  a  number  of  important  individuals  and  institutions,  in  the  early 
stages  of  the  work,  the  following  occurs : 

The  Southern  Publicity  Committee  believes  that  the  moral  and  material  prosperity  of 
the  South  depends  upon  the  moral  and  economic  development  of  its  entire  population;  and  we 
ask  the  cooperation  of  southern  editors  in  aiding  this  development  by  giving  publicity  to  this 
constructive  work. 

The  Committee's  work  is  done  in  no  spirit  of  boastfulness  or  self-satisfaction.  They  are 
aware  of  the  shadows,  the  sinister  influences  in  the  lives  of  both  races.  But  they  believe  the 
good  outweighs  the  evil,  and  deserves  as  wide  a  hearing;  and  that  to  give  publicity  to  these 
efforts  to  build  up  better  understanding  between  the  races,  and  to  cooperate  with  the  better 
class  of  Negroes  in  improving  conditions  among  their  people,  will  encourage  others  of  our 
own  people  to  similar  efforts,  and  will  further  the  interest  of  both  races. 

Somewhat  later,  when  the  committee  was  seeking  to  enlarge  the  scope  of  its 
work,  the  following  statement  was  sent  to  the  editors  of  the  religious  press  of  the 
South : 

The  Southern  Publicity  Committee  asks  your  help  in  putting  before  the  membership  of 
your  church  the  constructive  aspects  of  relations  between  the  races.  There  are,  among  whites 
and  blacks,  sinister  influences  at  work;  yet  all  over  the  South  men  and  women  of  both  races 
are  found  seeking  a  new  understanding  of  one  another,  a  better  basis  for  our  bi-racial  life. 
There  are  individuals,  church  and  business  groups,  county  and  state  officials  and  boards, 
who  are,  consciously  or  unconsciously  infusing  into  our  racial  relations  more  of  the  spirit  of 
justice  and  service. 

To  give  these  matters  publicity,  through  both  the  secular  and  religious  press,  will,  we 
believe,  encourage  others  of  our  people  to  similar  efforts,  and  will  strengthen  public  sentiment 
in  favor  of  Christian  solutions  of  our  problem. 

Again,  when  Mrs.  Hammond  felt  that  the  work  could  be  further  broadened, 
she  wrote  to  Dr.  Weatherford,  secretary  of  the  Y.  M.  C.  A.  in  southern  schools 
and  colleges,  and  to  Miss  Bertha  Conde,  of  the  Y.  W.  C.  A.,  both  of  whom  wrote 
statements  for  her  to  send  to  the  organizations  in  the  southern  schools  and 
colleges. 

Dr.  Weatherford  wrote  as  follows: 

A  new  day  is  dawning  in  connection  with  race  relationships  in  the  South.  Both  white  and 
colored  are  more  eagerly  alive  to  the  progress  of  the  other,  and  all  are  anxious  to  know  the 
best  facts.  Mrs.  J.  D.  Hammond,  Secretary  of  the  Southern  Publicity  Committee,  is  gather- 
ing up  facts  of  interest  to  both  white  and  colored  people  of  the  South,  which  facts  should  be 
given  broad  publicity.  I  heartily  commend  these  statements  to  you,  and  suggest  that  you 
give  them  as  wide  publicity  as  possible. 

Miss  Conde  wrote: 


82  EDUCATIONAL  ADAPTATIONS 

The  Southern  Publicity  Committee  has  been  compiling  most  interesting  information 
which  it  desires  to  put  in  the  hands  of  people  connected  with  educational  institutions  who  will 
report  it  to  interested  students  and  professors.  There  is  no  question  in  the  United  States 
more  worth  our  earnest  study  and  sympathy  than  the  Negro  question;  and  in  these  days  of 
reconstruction  and  re-shaping  our  principles  of  democracy  we  need  as  a  country,  and  as  a 
Christian  student  movement,  to  do  our  share  of  thinking. 

A  still  more  recent  attempt  to  reach  a  larger  reading  public  was  made  when 
Mrs.  Hammond  issued  to  all  of  the  school  and  college  presidents  of  the  South  a 
brief  statement  of  her  desire  to  put  before  the  young  people  constructive  facts  in 
race  relations: 

The  Southern  Publicity  Committee  wishes  to  put  before  the  students  of  the  South,  of 
both  races,  those  aspects  of  our  racial  relations  which  make  for  a  better  understanding,  for 
Christian  justice,  cooperation  and  kindness.  Releases  similar  to  the  enclosed  will  be  sent 
monthly  to  Y.  M.  and  Y.  W.  C.  A.'s  in  the  schools  of  both  races  throughout  the  South,  with 
the  consent  and  approval  of  Association  National  officers.  Will  you  not  help  us  with  your 
influence  in  your  institution  by  encouraging  the  Associations  to  give  publicity  to  these  con- 
structive facts,  and  by  otherwise  leading  your  students  to  see  that  the  moral  and  economic 
prosperity  of  the  South  depends  upon  moral  and  economic  development  of  all  its  population ; 
upon  justice,  cooperation,  and  mutual  trust? 

If  there  is  no  Association  in  your  school,  will  you  not  post  the  releases  sent  on  the  school 
bulletin  board,  or  otherwise  call  attention  to  them? 

Attitude  Toward  the  Work  of  the  Committee 

The  attitude  of  the  newspapers  and  periodicals  in  the  South  has  been  most 
cordial.  Many  people  have  expressed  their  approval  not  only  of  the  purposes  of 
this  committee,  but  specifically  of  the  type  of  work  which  it  is  doing.  There 
was  no  difficulty  in  obtaining  a  committee  to  serve  officially  as  sponsors  for  the 
enterprise.     To  quote  from  a  report  of  Mrs.  Hammond's: 

There  was  only  one  member  of  this  committee  to  join  it  with  reluctance.  When  I  had 
occasion  to  write  him  last  spring  a  letter  which  called  for  a  reply  he  did  not  answer.  I  had 
wanted  to  see  him  ever  since,  and  to  get  him  interested  if  I  could.  He  is  a  fine  man,  and  a 
very  great  influence.  So  I  took  the  opportunity  to  visit  him.  We  had  a  long  talk,  and  I  told 
him  of  a  lot  of  things  I  wanted  to  do  to  which  I  feared  he  might  object.  He  said,  when  I 
came  away,  to  do  any  thing  I  thought  worth  while  and  it  would  be  all  right.  He  said  he  had 
used  "a  very  considerable  proportion"  of  my  articles,  thoroughly  approved  of  them  both  as 
to  form  and  matter,  and  thought  they  would  do  much  good  and  that  the  results  would  be 
slow,  and  while  cumulative  could  never  be  tabulated  or  shown  up  for  what  they  were,  but  he 
felt  I  was  on  the  right  track. 

The  attitude  of  some  of  the  newspapers  and  individuals  receiving  the  material 
is  indicated  by  the  following  quotations. 

From  the  New  York  Age: 

I  am  very  glad  to  see  that  serious  thought  is  to  be  given  by  you  and  other  strong  women 
in  trying  to  change  the  attitude  of  the  White  South  toward  the  Black  South. 


SOUTHERN  PUBLICITY  COMMITTEE  83 

From  the  Raleigh  News  and  Observer: 

We  have  run  every  one  of  your  notices,  and  as  well  as  I  remember,  every  one  appeared  no 
the  editorial  page.  I  think  it  is  a  very  useful  work  you  are  doing.  I  believe  it  will  do  a  great 
deal  of  good.  Of  course,  one  cannot  put  his  finger  on  the  benefits  which  come  from  such  work, 
but  that  is  true  of  much  work  which  is  conceded  to  be  very  necessary.  The  function  of  the 
press  and  the  public  spirited  publicist  is  to  go  right  on  giving  good  advice  regardless  of  dis- 
couragements and  the  apparently  small  impression  which  is  made. 

From  the  Chicago  Defender: 

We  greatly  realize  the  need  of  such  service  as  you  contemplate  offering,  and  wish  to  assure 
you  of  our  hearty  cooperation  along  all  lines  that  are  conducive  to  the  advancement  of  your 
enterprise. 

From  the  Louisville  Courier- Journal : 

You  may  be  sure  that  we  will  use  the  service  as  regularly  as  possible. 

From  the  Midland  Methodist: 

The  Southern  Publicity  Committee  is  doing  important  work.  Seeing  results  will  be  long 
delayed,  and  hard  to  identify,  but  the  work  is  none  the  less  vital.  I  have  written  an  editorial 
squib  on  your  last  release,  and  marked  the  release  for  immediate  appearance  in  the  Midland. 
Other  editors,  I  doubt  not,  are  doing  the  same.  "Here  a  little  and  there  a  little"  helps. 
This  lynching  business  is  desperate,  and  must  be  met  in  some  way.  Making  sentiment  is 
like  building  blood  corpuscles— slow  and  imperceptible,  but  a  matter  of  life  and  death.  The 
Publicity  Committee  is  on  the  right  track.  You  are  doing  needed  and  most  important  work. 
From  Mr.  Wallace  Buttrick,  of  the  General  Education  Board,  New  York  City: 
I  have  been  reading  those  articles  with  very  great  interest.  The  work  you  are  doing  is 
of  marked  value  and  importance,  and  I  congratulate  you  and  the  country. 

From  Mr.  George  E.  Haynes,  Director  of  Negro  Economics,  of  the  Department 
of  Labor: 


I  have  just  had  a  clipping  from  the  New  Orleans  Times-Picayune  of  an  article  about  the 
work  of  this  Department  which  I  judge  was  sent  out  from  your  office.  I  thank  you  very 
heartily  for  it.    I  am  sure  it  will  help  spread  the  service  to  great  extent. 

Circulation  of  Material 

The  Southern  Publicity  Committee  is  increasing  its  circulation  of  information 
rapidly.  The  first  releases  sent  out  were  to  one  hundred  and  six  papers  which 
had  a  circulation  of  1,833,500.  Some  of  these  papers  published  articles  at  once 
and  regularly.  Others  have  done  it  only  after  watching  the  results  from  some 
of  their  more  powerful  and  fearless  neighbors. 

Next  Mrs.  Hammond  sought  to  cover  the  Negro  press.  The  following  is  from 
her  own  report: 

Sometimes  I  think  one  can  do  more  by  establishing  a  sympathetic  understanding,  in  a 
personal  way,  with  individual  colored  men  and  women  of  large  influence  than  in  almost  any 


84  EDUCATIONAL  ADAPTATIONS 

way  open  to  us.  It  seems  to  me  a  number  of  Negroes  do  really  begin  to  trust  me  and  count 
me  a  friend;  and  having  done  my  best  so  many  years  with  so  keen  a  sense  of  their  hidden, 
intense  reserve,  their  doubt  of  everything  a  white  skin  may  cover,  it  seems  quite  wonderful 
to  feel,  as  I  sometimes  do,  that  the  sword  of  their  suspicion  no  longer  flashes  between  us,  and 
they  are  open  to  approach.  If  the  publicity  work  must  move  slowly,  there  is,  while  I  am 
working  at  it,  this  other  opportunity. 

How  the  work  has  developed,  and  what  the  plans  for  the  future  are  may  be 
seen  from  statements  in  a  report  made  by  Mrs.  Hammond  in  January,  1919: 

For  the  coming  year  the  work  is  to  be  enlarged.  It  is  planned  to  send  out  some  7o0 
copies  of  the  releases  each  time — 1,500  monthly.  The  list  of  morning  dailies  will  be  continued, 
and  that  of  the  colored  papers  somewhat  enlarged;  but  the  week-day  afternoon  papers  in  the 
smaller  towns  will  be  especially  sought  after,  and  the  larger  county  papers  throughout  the 
South.  These  two  classes  of  papers  reach  a  large  element  among  our  people  who  especially 
need  to  become  familiar  with  the  attitude  of  the  best  and  most  forward-looking  Southern 
folk  in  regard  to  "the  Negro  problem."  The  list  of  religious  weeklies  will  be  continued; 
and  once  a  month  the  newspaper  lists  will  be  shortened  to  permit  the  inclusion  of  300  or  400 
college  Y.  M.  and  Y.  W.  C.  A.'s.  Releases  will  be  sent  to  Associations  of  both  races,  with 
the  backing  of  the  National  Associations'  officers,  and  their  request  to  post  the  articles  on 
the  "Y"  bulletin  boards,  to  call  attention  to  them  from  time  to  time  in  their  meetings,  and 
occasionally  to  use  them  in  a  discussion  of  racial  relations. 

Type  of  Material  Issued 

The  material  which  the  committee  puts  into  circulation  is  all  carefully  verified 
and  checked  up  before  it  is  released.  Mrs.  Hammond  feels  that  it  is  essential 
that  the  work  of  the  committee  shall  not  be  handicapped  by  any  carelessness  or 
inaccuracies  in  editing.  Her  facts  are  gathered  from  reports  of  organizations 
that  are  working  under,  or  with,  the  Government  at  Washington,  from  state 
publications,  from  various  societies,  both  colored  and  white,  that  are 
promoting  the  general  welfare  and  the  spirit  of  cooperation  in  the  South. 

The  reports  have  covered  a  wide  range  of  subjects.  The  following  headings 
indicate  the  character  and  scope  of  the  topics  discussed: 

"Southern  Church  Women  Assist  Colored  Women,"  a  report  from  a  meeting  in  Nash- 
ville, Tennessee. 

"A  Broad-Gage  Public  Service,  a  report  of  civic  welfare  and  educational  work  in  Hous- 
ton, Texas. 

"General  Hutcheson  on  our  Negro  Troops,"  a  report  of  a  speech  of  commendation  made 
at  Hampton  Institute. 

"A  Growing  Southern  Investment,"  a  report  of  the  work  of  the  Jeanes  Fund  throughout 
the  South. 

"A  Double  Service  Flag,"  an  account  of  the  Service  Flag  Parade  in  Atlanta,  Georgia, 
which  was  headed  by  a  colored  man  named  Isaac  Sims. 

"Virginia  Women  Doing  Great  Work,"  a  discussion  of  the  war  accomplishments  of  the 
Colored  Women's  Clubs  of  Virginia  in  erecting  an  industrial  home  school  for  wayward 
colored  girls. 


SOUTHERN  PUBLICITY  COMMITTEE  85 

"Southern  Opinion  of  Negro  Education,"  reports  of  work  being  accomplished  in  some  of 
the  Negro  schools  in  North  Carolina  and  Tennessee  and  contributions  which  have  recently 
been  made  them  from  the  public  funds,  as  well  as  from  private  funds. 

"Production  and  the  Mob  Spirit,"  a  report  on  Government  investigations  in  East  St. 
Louis,  Illinois,  which  resulted  in  the  erection  of  a  community  center  and  a  general  program 
for  community  betterment. 

"Race  Conferences  of  Significance,"  a  report  of  work  being  done  through  the  Bureau  of 
Negro  Economics  in  the  Department  of  Labor. 

"Better  Negro  Schools  for  Louisiana,"  a  synopsis  of  recent  educational  awakenings  in 
different  sections  of  Louisiana. 

Some  articles  on  lynching,  and  a  statement  of  the  feeling  of  the  better  minds 
of  the  white  and  colored  races.  Typical  examples  of  the  articles  are  given  on 
page  86. 

Recent  Extension  of  the  Work. 

In  September,  1919,  it  was  decided  to  increase  the  amount  of  publicity  work 
in  the  South.  The  generous  response  of  the  press  to  the  activities  of  the  Inter- 
racial Committee  led  the  Trustees  of  the  Phelps-Stokes  Fund  and  others  interested 
in  the  promotion  of  right  relationships  to  feel  that  the  time  had  come  to  use  the 
county  newspapers  in  addition  to  the  large  metropolitan  dailies.  Accordingly, 
Sydney  D.  Frissell  was  employed  to  undertake  this  work.  Mr.  Frissell  was  born 
in  the  South,  has  worked  among  the  Negroes,  and  is  familiar  with  the  activities 
of  both  the  white  people  and  the  colored  people  in  the  South.  He  began  his  work 
in  October,  1919. 

The  success  of  the  work  is  indicated  by  the  fact  that  such  county  papers  as 
the  Farmville  Herald,  Charlotte  Gazette,  Kenbridge  Free  State,  and  Blackstone  Courier 
have  used  all  the  articles  submitted,  while  the  Virginia  Pilot  of  Norfolk,  the 
Richmond  Neivs  Leader,  and  the  Richmond  Times-Despatch  have  published  a 
number  of  articles. 

In  his  report  for  December  Mr.  Frissell  said : 

For  the  month  of  December  I  can  report  that  my  writings  have  had  wide  circulation. 
The  Sunday  New  York  Times  printed  a  3,000-word  article  called  "Meeting  the  Negro  Prob- 
lem," the  Richmond  Times-Despatch  published  a  letter  on  the  work  of  the  Piedmont  Sana- 
torium for  Colored  Tubercular  Patients,  the  Richmond  News  Leader  published  a  Christmas 
article,  and  a  similar  article  reached  some  eight  or  ten  Virginia  counties  through  local  county 
papers.  New  counties  which  I  have  reached  this  month  are  Halifax,  Mechlinburg,  Appo- 
mattox, and  Buckingham.  As  usual  I  have  reached  Nottoway,  Amelia,  Prince  Edward, 
Lunenburg,  Charlotte  and  Dinwiddie.  Henrico,  the  city  of  Richmond,  and  adjacent  counties 
are  covered  well  by  the  Times-Despatch  and  the  Netvs  Leader,  in  both  of  which  my  contri- 
butions have  appeared. 


86 


EDUCATIONAL  ADAPTATIONS 


(Southern  Publicity  Committee) 
STATE  GOVERNORS  ADOPT 

A  RACE  PROGRAM 


Denver,  Colo. — At  the  annual  Con- 
ference of  Governors  just  held  here  race 
problems  were  brought  before  the  body 
by  a  committee  from  the  Southern  So- 
ciological Congress.  The  committee  con- 
sisted of  Bishop  Bratton,  Episcopal  Bishop 
of  Mississippi  and  president  of  the  Con- 
gress; J.  E.  McCullough,  its  secretary,  and 
Dr.  J.  H.  Dillard,  chairman  of  the  section 
on  race  relations.  The  congress,  in  its 
recent  appeal  to  the  Federal  Government 
to  control  mob  violence,  took  the  ground 
that  race  problems  are  of  national  rather 
than  sectional  concern;  and  it  was  felt  if  a 
policy  could  be  formulated  which  could  be 
endorsed  by  the  governors  of  all  the  states 
a  starting  point  would  be  secured  from 
which  the  whole  problem  might  be  worked 
out  along  common  lines. 

The  committee  stated  its  belief  that  "no 
enduring  basis  of  good  will  between  white 
and  colored  peoples  in  this  country  could 
be  developed  except  on  the  fundamental 
principles  of  justice,  cooperation,  and  race 
integrity";  and  that  we  owe  it  to  posterity 
"to  preserve  the  purity  of  our  democratic 
ideals  expressed  in  the  American  constitu- 
tion as  well  as  the  purity  of  the  blood  of 
both  races." 

The  three  items  of  the  program  are: 
The  preventing  of  mob  violence;  safe- 
guarding the  Negro's  rights  of  citizenship; 
promoting  closer  cooperation  between  the 
races. 

The  specific  suggestions  under  the  first 
head  appear  very  inadequate,  as  nothing 
is  said  of  punishing  mob  leaders;  but  an 
honest  carrying  out  of  the  rest  of  the  pro- 
gram will  do  away  with  mobs  by  changing 
public  opinion.  This  includes,  under  the 
second  head,  proper  traveling  accommo- 
dations, better  housing,  and  adequate 
school  and  recreational  facilities. 

The  real  strength  of  the  program  is  in 
the  promotion  of  cooperation.  If  the  best 
men  and  women  of  the  two  races  can  be 
brought  to  know  one  another,  the  bogey  of 
"social  equality"  will  vanish  and  mutual 
trust  and  respect  be  established.  Local 
white  and  colored  committees  are  to  be 
formed    to   consider   matters  of  common 


interest — a  policy  already  in  successful 
operation  in  a  number  of  communities  in 
every  southern  state.  The  employment 
of  colored  physicians,  nurses,  and  police- 
men for  public  health  and  law-enforce- 
ment among  Negroes  is  recommended;  co- 
operation with  all  constructive  agencies  of 
both  races;  and  the  appointment  by  each 
governor  of  a  standing  commission  to 
study  the  race  situation  and  to  recom- 
mend means  to  prevent  friction  and  to 
promote  good  will. 

This  program  was  adopted  in  whole, 
and  with  hearty  recommendation,  by  all 
the  governors  present. 


SOUTHERN  COUNTIES  TAKE 

OVER  CHURCH  SCHOOLS 


Waynesboro,  Ga. — The  Burke  county 
board  of  education  has  accepted  Haven 
Academy,  a  school  for  Negroes  belonging 
to  the  M.  E.  Church,  and  has  increased 
the  appropriation  for  colored  schools  in 
order  to  properly  maintain  it.  A  new, 
modern  building  is  contemplated;  and 
Burke  will  join  the  lengthening  line  of 
those  counties  which  are  holding  the 
Negroes  at  home  by  providing  educational 
opportunities  for  their  children. 

In  St.  Mary's  Parish.  La.,  the  same 
church  has  turned  over  Gilbert  Academy 
and  40  acres  of  land  to  the  parish  board. 
The  board,  with  the  help  of  the  Smith- 
Hughes  fund,  will  maintain  an  English 
and  agricultural  school  with  at  least  five 
teachers,  the  teachers  of  agriculture  being 
employed  twelve  months  in  the  year.  The 
people  of  the  parish  have  given  $1,500  for 
improvements  for  the  school. 


RACE  COOPERATION 

IN  MISSISSIPPI 


Brookiiaven,  Miss. — The  city  cham- 
ber of  commerce  has  given  $500  to  pro- 
mote community  service  among  Negroes 
here,  including  the  employment  of  a 
colored  public-health  nurse.  A  coopera- 
tive committee  of  both  races  has  already 
justified  its  existence  by  smoothing  out 
causes  of  friction  between  the  races. 


A  Typical  Press  Sheet  Sent  Out  by  the  Southern  Publicity  Committee 


VIII 
WAR  WORK 

The  acute  problems  of  race  relations  developed  by  the  war  and  reconstruction 
conditions  after  the  war  taxed  every  individual  and  agency  with  any  preparation 
to  give  counsel.  The  good-natured  indifference  of  the  nation  toward  important 
problems  was  strikingly  illustrated  by  our  ignorance  of  the  life  and  work  of  our 
eleven  million  Negro  neighbors.  The  war  soon  revealed  this  ignorance,  with  the 
result  that  hurried  and  emphatic  calls  were  made  upon  individuals  and  organizations 
known  to  have  any  knowledge  of  Negro  affairs.  The  demands  upon  the  workers 
of  the  Phelps-Stokes  Fund  were  both  varied  and  frequent.  The  organizations 
with  which  the  Fund  cooperated  in  this  work  were  chiefly  the  War  Work  Council 
of  the  Y.  M.  C.  A.,  the  War  Time  Committee  of  the  Churches,  and  various 
divisions  of  the  War  Department,  both  in  the  United  States  and  France.  The 
five  regular  workers  of  the  Fund  were  transferred  at  one  time  or  another  in  various 
capacities  to  the  War  Department  or  some  agency  closely  identified  with  the 
prosecution  of  the  war. 

War  Department — War  and  Education 

One  of  the  first  calls  was  from  the  Committee  on  Education  and  Special  Train- 
ing of  the  War  Department,  which  had  to  do  with  the  mobilization  of  the  schools 
to  assist  in  the  training  of  the  army.  The  General  Staff  soon  realized  that  the 
eleven  million  Negroes  could  furnish  hundreds  of  thousands  of  vigorous  young 
men  for  the  army,  provided  satisfactory  training  could  be  arranged.  The  large 
percentage  of  illiteracy  required  schools  and  teachers  to  impart  the  rudiments 
of  knowledge.  The  army  need  for  mechanics  made  it  necessary  to  establish 
vocational  schools.  The  preparation  of  colored  officers  called  for  effective  educa- 
tional facilities.  All  of  these  demands  were  both  insistent  and  sudden.  There 
was  no  time  for  study  or  delay  of  any  kind.  It  was,  therefore,  fortunate  that  the 
Phelps-Stokes  Fund  and  the  United  States  Bureau  of  Education  had  just  com- 
pleted the  survey  described  in  another  chapter  of  this  report.  The  Fund  accord- 
ingly placed  workers  and  files  at  the  disposal  of  the  War  Department.  The  first 
task  was  to  aid  the  Department  to  determine  the  schools  fitted  to  do  the  varying 
grades  and  kinds  of  educational  work  required.  Some  of  the  difficulties  which 
developed  during  the  war  were  caused  by  the  inability  of  army  officers  to  determine 
the  real  status  of  institutions  for  the  education  of  Negroes.  In  the  haste  of  army 
organizations,  institutions  were  at  first  rated  according  to  their  names  and  claims. 
Thus  a  number  of  so-called  colleges  and  universities  were  ranked  according  to  their 
catalogues,  when  their  equipment  and  teaching  force  scarcely  merited  the  standing 
of  secondary  schools.  Likewise,  several  institutions  making  large  use  of  such 
titles  as  "industrial,"  "technical"  and  "agricultural"  claimed  recognition  in  the 
War  Department  program  for  training  technical  workers  when  their  experience 
and  personnel  were  either  entirely  inadequate  or  limited  to  literary  instruction. 

To  meet  these  difficulties,  one  of  the  Phelps-Stokes  workers  became  a  super- 

87 


88  EDUCATIONAL  ADAPTATIONS 

visor  of  vocational  courses  for  the  War  Department  Committee  on  Education 
and  Special  Training.  The  experience  and  knowledge  acquired  by  the  Phelps- 
Stokes  staff  during  the  survey  of  Negro  schools  made  it  possible  for  this  supervisor 
to  give  an  accurate  estimate  of  the  possibilities  of  each  institution  to  supply  the 
various  forms  of  training  required  for  the  army.  Another  worker  became  an 
assistant  to  the  Committee  on  the  Classification  of  Army  Personnel.  This  worker 
gave  to  the  committee  the  results  of  several  years'  careful  study  of  the  industrial 
qualifications  of  the  Negroes  in  the  United  States.  Through  his  knowledge  of 
their  schools,  he  assisted  the  committee  to  understand  the  extent  to  which  the 
Negro  soldiers  had  been  trained  for  positions  as  mechanics  and  other  important 
occupations.  Through  his  efforts  the  War  Department  was  organizing  plans  to 
recognize  every  possible  qualification  of  the  Negroes  for  service  and  leadership. 
Had  these  plans  been  inaugurated  at  the  beginning  of  the  war,  it  is  probable  that 
many  mistakes  could  have  been  avoided. 

Two  other  of  the  Fund's  workers  entered  governmental  service  and  rendered 
valuable  aid  through  the  training  obtained  with  the  Fund.  One  of  these  was  a 
commissioned  officer  in  charge  of  some  of  the  statistical  departments  of  the  A.  E.  F. 
The  other  became  an  accountant  in  the  Treasury  Department. 

In  addition  to  these  workers  whose  services  were  entirely  transferred  to  the 
Government  during  the  war,  there  were  frequent  demands  upon  the  Educational 
Director  for  advice  by  various  governmental  departments  engaged  in  war  work. 
These  departments  included  several  divisions,  committees  and  commissions  of  the 
War  Department,  the  Labor  Department,  and  the  Department  of  Agriculture. 
With  the  increasing  perplexity  of  race-relationships  among  our  troops  overseas, 
arrangement  was  made  for  the  Educational  Director  to  spend  some  time  in  Europe. 
The  overseas  service  was  concerned  with  questions  of  morale  and  education. 
Cooperation  was  developed  with  all  the  important  agencies  concerned  in  the 
welfare  of  Negro  troops. 

Through  the  aid  of  the  commanding  officers  of  the  A.  E.  F.,  conferences  as  to 
army  policies  were  held  with  the  various  branches  of  the  army  containing  Negro 
troops,  and  some  helpful  changes  were  realized.  Unfortunately  the  work  was  not 
begun  early  enough  to  overcome  the  difficulties  before  the  armistice  made  the 
continuation  of  the  service  less  necessary- 

Probably  the  most  important  service  rendered  overseas  by  the  Educational 
Director  was  the  aid  given  to  Dr.  R.  R.  Moton  of  Tuskegee,  who  went  to  France 
at  the  request  of  President  Wilson  and  Secretary  Baker.  Through  information 
already  assembled,  it  was  possible  to  facilitate  Dr.  Moton's  travels  to  the  camps. 
His  conferences  with  commanding  officers  resulted  in  many  improvements  in  the 
handling  of  Negro  troops.  In  these  conferences  he  spoke  with  frankness  and 
wisdom.  His  suggestions  were  received  in  the  spirit  with  which  they  were  given. 
Dr.  Moton's  talks  to  the  soldiers  were  filled  with  encouragement  and  sound  advice. 
These  soldiers  were  made  to  feel  that  their  services  were  essential  parts  of  the 
great  effort  to  save  democracy. 


WAR  WORK  89 

War-Time  Committee  of  the  Churches 

The  Educational  Director  of  the  Fund  was  the  secretary  of  the  committee 
appointed  by  the  War-Time  Commission  of  the  Churches  to  give  special  attention 
to  the  needs  of  Negro  soldiers  and  to  community  problems  arising  from  the 
presence  of  these  soldiers.  This  committee  employed  two  colored  men.  One 
of  these,  financed  by  the  Phelps-Stokes  Fund,  made  careful  observations  of  con- 
ditions in  and  about  the  cantonments  where  colored  soldiers  were  located.  The 
reports  prepared  by  this  worker  showed  such  a  thoroughness  in  ascertaining  the 
truth  and  such  a  constructive  point  of  view  in  the  recommendations  made  as  to 
win  the  cordial  approval  of  the  War  Department  and  all  the  agencies  cooperating 
in  the  care  of  the  soldiers.  When  demobilization  was  well  under  way  in  the 
United  States,  he  went  to  France  under  the  auspices  of  the  Y.  M.  C.  A.  to  observe 
the  conditions  under  which  Negro  soldiers  were  living  and  to  suggest  ways  by 
which  undesirable  conditions  could  be  changed. 

The  second  worker  devoted  his  time  to  the  study  of  the  churches  in  their  relations 
to  colored  soldiers.  On  the  basis  of  these  observations,  he  assisted  the  churches  to 
plan  their  activities  so  as  to  be  of  real  help  to  the  soldiers  in  the  community.  Un- 
fortunately this  effort  was  not  in  time  to  be  of  large  influence. 

The  general  influence  of  the  War-Time  Commission  of  the  Churches  on  the 
welfare  of  Negro  soldiers  was  effective  in  many  directions.  On  the  basis  of  the 
observations  made  by  the  committee,  representations  in  behalf  of  the  colored 
soldiers  were  made,  not  only  to  the  War  Department,  but  also  to  organizations 
and  individuals  in  any  way  concerned  in  the  welfare  of  soldiers. 

With  all  the  publicity  given  to  the  splendid  response  of  the  colored  people  to 
war  demands,  it  is  not  necessary  in  this  connection  to  record  the  observations  and 
experiences  of  the  committee.  While  there  were  perplexing  problems  of  adjust- 
ments between  white  and  colored  troops  and  white  and  colored  civilians  during  the 
war,  it  is  the  uniform  testimony  of  all  that  the  Negro  soldiers  and  civilians  rendered 
a  patriotic  service  that  won  the  admiration  of  the  country. 

War  Work  Council  of  the  Y.  M.  C.  A. 

In  addition  to  appropriations  made  by  the  Phelps-Stokes  Fund  to  the  War 
Work  Council  for  the  aid  of  its  activities  among  Negro  soldiers,  the  officers  of  the 
Fund  devoted  some  time  as  members  of  committees  and  in  an  advisory  capacity  in 
various  phases  of  the  work  of  the  Y.  M.  C.  A.  The  Educational  Director  spent 
about  three  months  overseas  advising  with  both  the  officers  of  the  Association  and 
of  the  army  headquarters  as  to  the  welfare  of  the  colored  troops  in  France  and 
England.  The  conditions  requiring  attention  were  largely  the  necessary  conse- 
quence of  the  rapidity  with  which  the  military  organization  was  created.  Un- 
fortunately racial  misunderstandings  current  in  the  United  States  were  carried  by 
our  troops  to  France.  The  appreciative  attitude  of  the  French  people  toward  both 
white  and  colored  soldiers  contributed  to  the  perplexity  of  the  situation.  While 
difficulties  arose,  there  were  definite  indications  that  conditions  creating  misunder- 


90  EDUCATIONAL  ADAPTATIONS 

standings  would  be  eliminated  as  rapidly  as  the  exigences  of  war  would  permit. 
The  General  Headquarters  of  the  Army  and  the  cooperating  organizations  were 
undoubtedly  making  serious  efforts  to  develop  a  military  organization  based  upon 
the  principles  of  justice  and  good  will. 

After- War  Cooperation 

It  was  inevitable  that  the  unrest  which  prevailed  throughout  the  nation  after 
the  war  should  involve  the  colored  people.  The  groups  with  grievances  and  the 
groups  with  natural  ambitions  had  been  led  to  believe  by  war-oratory  and  govern- 
mental propaganda  that  the  day  of  self-determination  was  at  hand.  The  Negroes, 
increasingly  conscious  of  the  limitations  of  their  position,  were  naturally  sensitive 
to  the  appeals  of  those  who  promised  the  immediate  elimination  of  their  difficulties. 
During  the  war  these  Negroes  had  devoted  themselves,  their  children  and  their 
property  to  what  they  thought  was  a  fight  for  democracy — democracy  in  Europe, 
democracy  in  the  United  States,  democracy  for  Negroes.  It  is  not  surprising  that 
the  Negro  press  and  many  Negro  leaders  gave  expression  to  bitter  disappointment 
that  conditions  of  travel,  education,  court  procedure,  and  many  other  fundamental 
phases  of  their  life  were  not  immediately  improved. 

Many  white  people,  on  the  other  hand,  were  quick  to  believe  current  rumors 
about  the  aggressiveness  of  the  Negroes.  It  was  reported  that  the  Negro  soldiers 
would  return  to  demand  the  social  equality  accorded  to  them  in  France.  While  the 
colored  soldiers  returned  in  good  spirit,  ready  to  do  their  share  in  the  upbuilding 
of  the  nation  wherever  opportunity  was  offered,  the  demands  made  by  Negro  labor 
along  with  all  other  labor  and  the  unrest  of  colored  people  along  with  the  general 
unrest  of  the  period  were  interpreted  to  be  proofs  of  dangerous  Negro  aggression. 
The  extensive  immigration  from  the  South  to  the  North  during  and  after  the  war 
greatly  intensified  this  feeling.  The  South  was  disturbed  by  the  loss  of  so  much  of 
its  labor.  The  North  was  equally,  if  not  more  seriously,  disturbed  by  the 
difficulties  of  housing  and  racial  adjustments  in  large  cities  already  sorely 
perplexed  by  the  heterogeneity  of  population. 

In  view  of  the  racial  disturbances  clearly  pending,  in  the  early  months  of  1919 
the  Educational  Director  of  the  Phelps-Stokes  Fund  arranged  for  a  conference  of 
the  representatives  of  all  war-working  organizations  to  consider  the  cooperative 
measures  necessary  to  deal  with  the  situation.  This  meeting  was  held  February, 
1919,  in  the  Russell  Sage  Building,  New  York  City,  and  included  both  white  and 
colored  people  of  the  North  and  South,  and  representatives  of  the  War  Work 
Council  of  the  Y.  M.  C.  A.,  War  Camp  Community  Service,  Y.  W.  C.  A.,  and  the 
War-Time  Committee  of  Churches.  The  conference  requested  the  War-Time 
Committee  of  Churches  to  study  the  situation  and  arrange  for  further  cooperation. 
As  the  Educational  Director  was  the  secretary  of  the  special  committee  thus 
appointed,  he  immediately  undertook  the  work  and  arranged  for  another  con- 
ference of  representatives  of  war-working  organizations  in  Atlanta,  Georgia.  It 
seemed  desirable  that  the  movement  should  really  begin  in  the  South,  where  the 


WAR  WORK 


91 


great  masses  of  the  colored  people  live.  At  the  Atlanta  conference,  held  in  March, 
it  was  decided  to  form  a  Committee  on  After- War  Cooperation,  to  be  composed  of 
representatives  from  the  various  southern  states.  The  Chairman  of  this  Committee 
was  Mr.  J.  J.  Eagan,  of  Atlanta,  Ga.,  and  the  Educational  Director  of  the  Phelps- 
Stokes  Fund  was  secretary  during  the  period  of  organization.  Mr.  Eagan,  as 
chairman  of  the  committee,  assembled  the  white  representatives  from  the  various 
states  in  conference  at  Atlanta  early  in  April.  At  the  same  time,  Dr.  Moton  of 
Tuskegee  assembled  a  group  of  southern  colored  men  at  Tuskegee.  Representatives 
of  the  white  committee  met  with  the  colored  group  at  Tuskegee.  The  expenses  of 
these  two  conferences  were  paid  by  Mr.  Eagan.  At  this  time  it  was  hoped  that  the 
financial  support  of  the  two  committees  would  be  met  by  the  War  Camp  Com- 
munity Service.  Unfortunately,  the  War  Camp  committee  decided  that  the 
movement  was  not  within  the  scope  of  its  activities.  Fortunately,  the  WTar  Work 
Council  of  the  Y.  M.  C.  A.,  with  large  statesmanship,  appreciated  the  value  of  the 
movement  and  appropriated  sufficient  funds  to  continue  the  organization  until 
January  1,  1920. 

With  equal  statesmanship,  the  War  Work  Council  entrusted  the  management 
of  the  movement  to  the  Committee  on  After- War  Cooperation.  The  name,  how- 
ever, was  changed  to  that  of  the  Inter-Racial  Committee,  and  Mr.  R.  H.  King, 
Executive  Secretary  of  the  Southeastern  Department  of  the  War  Work  Council, 
became  the  executive  officer, -with  Mr.  Eagan  as  Chairman.  The  movement  thus 
acquired  not  only  the  financial  support  of  the  War  Work  Council  but  much  of  its 
personnel.  The  state  secretaries  of  the  War  Work  Council,  together  with  the 
representatives  of  what  was  formerly  known  as  the  Committee  on  After- War 
Cooperation,  combined  to  advance  a  program  for  inter-racial  work  in  every  state. 

The  plan  of  organization  proposed  at  the  original  meeting,  and  now  largely 
realized  by  the  War  Work  Council,  is  indicated  in  the  following  diagram: 


Committee  on  After-War  Cooperation 


Business 
Organization 


Press 


Executive  Committee 


State  Committee 


School      Churches 


Rural 
Life 


Labor 
Associations 


Welfare 
Organization 


Bar 

Associations 


Women's 
Clubs 


92  EDUCATIONAL  ADAPTATIONS 

The  most  essential  part  of  the  inter-racial  program  is  the  organization  of  com- 
mittees of  white  men  and  committees  of  colored  men  in  as  many  localities  as 
possible.  These  committees  are  in  the  nature  of  clearing-houses  for  the  elimination 
of  all  conditions  that  make  for  racial  misunderstanding  and  for  the  development  of 
all  movements  that  make  for  peace  and  good  will  between  the  races.  The  results 
achieved  by  the  Inter-Racial  Committee  in  the  southern  states  are  quite  remark- 
able. In  addition  to  the  organization  and  conference  work,  the  committee  has 
had  a  striking  influence  on  the  press.  There  has  been  a  marked  change  in  the 
headlines  and  the  emphasis  in  a  large  proportion  of  the  papers.  Of  the  759  counties 
in  southern  states  in  which  the  proportion  of  Negroes  is  sufficiently  large  to  warrant 
inter-racial  committees,  organizations  have  been  formed  in  nearly  half.  The  com- 
mittee f  urther  plans  to  hold  a  conference  of  National  leaders  of  all  agencies  interested 
in  race  relationships  for  the  purpose  of  working  out  a  constructive  and  statesman- 
like policy.  It  is  well  known  that  these  committees  have  already  prevented  a 
number  of  dangerous  riots.  Public  opinion  favorable  to  adequate  educational  and 
health  facilities  has  been  formed.  It  is  well  known  that  each  of  the  committees  is 
working  for  as  much  as  possible  of  the  inter-racial  program  outlined  above.  The 
cooperation  of  the  Phelps-Stokes  Fund  with  the  Inter-Racial  Committee  has  been 
one  of  its  most  profitable  undertakings. 

With  success  assured  for  this  inter-racial  movement  in  the  South,  the  Phelps- 
Stokes  Fund  has  been  making  preliminary  observations  of  racial  conditions  in 
Northern  cities.  These  observations  clearly  indicate  that  there  are  serious  racial 
problems  in  these  cities.  While  almost  every  city  has  one  or  more  organizations  to 
deal  with  its  difficulties,  there  is  great  need  for  a  means  of  exchange  of  experiences 
and  methods  among  these  cities.  Some  of  the  municipal  organizations  have  de- 
veloped plans  which  would  be  very  helpful  if  they  could  be  applied  to  other  cities. 
The  whole  situation  would  be  much  improved  if  each  city  could  feel  that  it  is  a  part 
of  a  general  movement  for  the  development  of  race  harmony.  There  is  evidently  a 
need  for  a  movement  similar  to  that  already  so  effective  in  the  southern  states. 
There  are  at  least  two  movements  which  deal  somewhat  with  the  inter-city  problem. 
The  National  Urban  League  is  doing  effective  work  in  dealing  with  certain  phases 
of  the  problem.  It  has  not,  however,  been  successful  in  winning  an  adequate  support 
from  the  white  citizenship  of  either  the  northern  or  southern  cities.  The  Inter- 
Church  World  Movement  promises  cooperation  of  white  and  colored  churches  of 
both  the  North  and  South.  The  development  of  race  harmony  requires  the  co- 
operation of  all  elements  of  a  community.  It  seems  clear  that  an  adequate  treat- 
ment of  the  present  situation  demands  a  movement  that  will  include  not  only  the 
white  and  colored  churches,  not  only  the  colored  people  and  their  immediate  friends, 
but  such  organizations  as  the  Chambers  of  Commerce,  the  civic  associations,  news- 
papers, educational  institutions,  and  all  groups  of  representative  citizens,  white 
and  colored.  The  Phelps-Stokes  Fund  has  accordingly  decided  to  make  a  more 
careful  survey  of  the  possible  groups  that  should  be  included  in  the  type  of  co- 
operation represented  by  the  Inter-Racial  Committee  of  the  Southern  States. 

Til!  HCAL 

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